The public hearing set up to investigate the deaths of people who died while they were a patient in a mental health ward in Essex will run until mid-May.
The Lampard Inquiry, set up to investigate the deaths of people who died while they were a patient in a mental health ward under the care of NHS Trusts in Essex between 2000 and 2023 has reopened.
As a result of its expertise on deaths in mental health services and its involvement with Essex families and nationally, the charity INQUEST has been given core participant status in a public inquiry.
The hearings will include contextual evidence relating to the provision of mental health inpatient care in Essex. The inquiry also intends to hear evidence relating to some systemic issues around the provision of care.
The inquiry will be hearing evidence from Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust and other relevant organisations. The inquiry will not hear evidence from families or those with lived experience at the April hearing.
“For this inquiry to succeed in preventing future deaths, there needs to be an absolute commitment to duty of candour and full disclosure of all facts and data,” said Deborah Coles director at INQUEST. “Bereaved families and the public deserve a lot more than empty promises of lessons learnt and excuses to explain away countless deaths.”
The public hearing will run until 15 May.
