Families affected by alleged failings at an NHS trust providing mental health care in York are calling on the government to appoint a chair for its public inquiry into the trust.
More than 130 relatives and patients are calling on the health secretary, Wes Streeting, to start proceedings for the public inquiry into the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV).
Mr Streeting announced last December that a statutory public inquiry would be held into the trust after numerous significant failings in its safeguarding and care.
A Department of Health spokesperson said it is “working at pace” to appoint a chair for the TEWV inquiry.
The department confirmed that a secretary to the inquiry has been appointed and will take up their post in June, but its spokesperson said the secretary’s name is yet to be made public.
Officials met with former patients, affected families and their representatives at the end of March and are looking to appoint a chair as soon as practically possible, the Department of Health said.
Its spokesperson added: “We are committed to ensuring the voices of patients and the families affected by failures at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust are at the heart of this inquiry.
“We have been listening carefully to them about the qualities they expect to see in the chair, and we are working at pace to confirm an appointment as soon as possible."
TEWV’s chief executive said the trust is seeking regular updates from across the NHS and “will co-operate fully with the public inquiry”.
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It comes after families affected by the trust and their legal representatives at Ison Harrison voiced growing anger at what they called “the continued delay to a promised public inquiry”.
TEWV had been dogged by calls for a public inquiry after being convicted and fined over the deaths of two patients and blamed at inquests for contributing to the deaths of others, slammed by watchdogs, and branded as ‘requiring improvement'.
The trust provides mental health services across York and North Yorkshire, as well as County Durham, Darlington and Teesside.
An Ison Harrison spokesperson said that despite Mr Streeting’s pledge four months ago to move with urgency, “the process has stalled, leaving grieving relatives and patients in a state of limbo”.
They said families were told an inquiry chair would be appointed by the end of February.
'Optimism has been replaced by profound disappointment,' says lawyer
Alistair Smith, a senior solicitor at Ison Harrison who has supported bereaved families impacted by TEWV for more than five years, called on the government to appoint a chair for the inquiry.
“There was a clear sense of momentum at the end of last year. Families were given a firm commitment that a statutory public inquiry would take place and that the trust would be held to account for what can only be described as monumental failings, yet that optimism has been replaced by profound disappointment,” he said.
"The preliminary stages should have been a straightforward step toward transparency, yet we are seeing the same pattern of delay that has characterised the trust’s history. The government promised these families the truth in a forum as robust as the Post Office inquiry, but you cannot find the truth without a chair to lead the search.”
Alison Smith, who took over as TEWV’s chief executive last May, said: “We remain in contact with our NHS England regional colleagues, seeking regular updates.
“Supporting parents and families remains our priority and I continue to meet with people who want to share their stories with the new chief executive. This has been incredibly courageous, particularly when retelling experiences that are often difficult and distressing. Many do so in the hope of improving care for others and helping to prevent anyone else experiencing what they and their loved ones have been through.
“We will co-operate fully with the public inquiry with honesty, openness, humility, grace and kindness. It’s an opportunity to hear and learn what we could have done better and how we continue to improve.”
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