Review into series of ‘unexpected deaths’ identifies service shortcomings

A review sparked by the ‘unexpected’ deaths of 13 patients has found several shortcomings in the talking therapy services offered by a mental health trust.

The internal review at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys Foundation Trust followed a series of deaths between October 2019 and September 2020.

The trust has said the key findings included a lack of family involvement in discussing risks, increased waiting times for face-to-face therapy, and a lack of contact or reassessment for patients on waiting lists.

Eight of the 13 deaths, six of which were suicides, were escalated to serious incident reviews, according to a freedom of information response received by HSJ.

However, when asked for the findings of the serious incident reviews, the trust said: “To break down the key issues and attribute any single one of them to an individual patient death would in itself lead to potentially identifying that person.”

The trust’s improving access to psychological therapies service assessed 11,839 people between October 2019 and September 2020.

It comes amid a series of separate investigations into concerns around the trust’s services.

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Source: HSJ, 13 April 2021