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Criticised Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust 'must improve' | Criticised Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust 'must improve' |
(about 1 hour later) | |
An under-fire health trust, criticised after a teenager drowned in a bath, has been told to significantly improve protection of mental health patients. | An under-fire health trust, criticised after a teenager drowned in a bath, has been told to significantly improve protection of mental health patients. |
Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust was issued the warning notice by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an inspection in January. | |
An inquest found neglect contributed to the death of Connor Sparrowhawk, 18, at Slade House in Oxford in 2013. | An inquest found neglect contributed to the death of Connor Sparrowhawk, 18, at Slade House in Oxford in 2013. |
The trust said it was "completely focused" on tackling the concerns. | |
Last year an independent report blamed a "failure of leadership" for failing to investigate the unexplained deaths of hundreds of patients. | |
It was ordered after Mr Sparrowhawk was found unresponsive n the bath following an epileptic seizure at the Oxford learning disability unit, which has since closed. | |
The CQC found the trust's investigation of incidents, including deaths, was not robust enough. | |
'Longstanding risks' | 'Longstanding risks' |
It said not enough was done to learn from incidents to prevent future risks to patients, and concerns raised by patients, their carers and staff were not effectively responded to. | |
Dr Paul Lelliott, CQC deputy chief inspector of hospitals, said the safety of patients with mental ill health and or learning disabilities required "significant improvement". | Dr Paul Lelliott, CQC deputy chief inspector of hospitals, said the safety of patients with mental ill health and or learning disabilities required "significant improvement". |
"We found longstanding risks to patients, arising from the physical environment, that had not been dealt with effectively. | "We found longstanding risks to patients, arising from the physical environment, that had not been dealt with effectively. |
"The Trust's internal governance arrangements to learn from serious incidents or investigations were not good enough, meaning that opportunities to minimise further risks to patients were lost," he added. | "The Trust's internal governance arrangements to learn from serious incidents or investigations were not good enough, meaning that opportunities to minimise further risks to patients were lost," he added. |
Following the report's publication, trust chief executive Katrina Percy said she had been "clear and open" about the work needed to address concerns raised. | |
"Good progress has been made, however we accept that the CQC feels that in some areas we have not acted swiftly enough," she said. | |
"My main priority is, and always has been, the safety of our patients. We take the CQC's concerns extremely seriously and have taken a number of further actions." | |
'Feet dragging' | |
Earlier this year the trust said there would be no resignations. | Earlier this year the trust said there would be no resignations. |
Mr Sparrowhawk's mother, Sara Ryan, responded to the report on Twitter by repeating her call for resignations from the trust's senior leadership. | |
She posted: "Completely baffled the board are still in place." | |
"Nothing else is needed. Just action. Why the feet dragging? Astonishing," she wrote in another. | |
Dan Scorer of learning disability charity Mencap, said the CQC warning notice showed little had changed since the independent report was published. | |
"Families are being left questioning whether the death of their loved one should have been investigated and whether the death might have been avoided," he said. | |
"The lack of urgency to tackle this national scandal is unacceptable," he added. | |
The trust is one of the country's largest mental health trusts, covering Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire and providing services to about 45,000 people. | The trust is one of the country's largest mental health trusts, covering Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire and providing services to about 45,000 people. |