Mental health patient monitoring system in spotlight

A healthcare trust has defended its decision to abandon a controversial digital monitoring system for mental health patients.

Leicestershire Partnership Trust (LPT) gave evidence on Tuesday during the Lampard Inquiry in London, which is examining the deaths of more than 2,000 people under the care of Essex mental health services between 2000 and 2023.

The Leicestershire trust piloted a system which uses infrared sensors and cameras in patients' bedrooms, but decided not to use it.

Oxevision is used by a number of mental health trusts across England, including neighbouring Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust where bosses are looking to expand its use.

Grave concerns about the system have been raised previously in the inquiry with campaigners claiming it had been overly relied upon by staff at Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust.

Campaign group Stop Oxevision has said it had concerns around patient's dignity, privacy and consent processes which vary across the country, but the creators of the system have said it is an important safety aid.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) recently confirmed it was investigating Oxehealth, which developed Oxevision, and said "as this is a live investigation, we are unable to comment further".

Andres Freire-Patino, deputy director of mental health services at LPT, who began working at the trust in 2023, told the inquiry that one of the aims of the pilot was to test whether Oxevision could support patients getting a better night sleep.

Oxevision can digitally track pulse rates and breathing rates, so this does not need to be done in-person and disturb patients throughout the night.

Freire-Patino said: "Sleep is incredibly important in terms of people's recovery from mental health."

However, the inquiry heard one patient - a pregnant woman - slept in an interview room as she refused to stay in a bedroom with Oxevision, even with it off.

Freire-Patino said there were a number of reasons why they decided not to use the technology, but one was only 42% of patients consented to its use during the second pilot.

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Source: BBC News, 22 July 2026