Lampard Inquiry: terms of reference (10 April 2024)

Summary

The Lampard Inquiry will seek to understand the events that led to the tragic deaths of mental health inpatients under the care of NHS trusts in Essex between 2000 and 2023. This document outlines the terms of reference set following consultation with the chair of the inquiry, Baroness Lampard.

Content

The inquiry will consider:

• serious failings related to the delivery of safe and therapeutic inpatient treatment and care, which may include consideration of circumstances where serious harm short of death occurred
• how and the extent to which patients were engaged with and involved in decisions in relation to their care
• how and the extent to which families, carers or other members of a patient’s support network were engaged with and involved in decisions in relation to the patient’s care, including any engagement after the patient’s death
• matters relating to physical and sexual safety within mental health inpatient units at the trusts
• the actions, practices and behaviours of permanent, temporary and agency staff providing mental health inpatient care at the trusts
• the approach to staffing, training and working conditions of permanent, temporary and agency staff providing mental health inpatient care at the trusts; including the support provided to and the supervision of such staff
• the actions, practices and behaviours of leadership in relation to mental health inpatient care at the trusts
• the culture and the wider governance of and at the trusts
• the quality of investigations undertaken or commissioned by the trusts in relation to mental health inpatient care
• the quality, timeliness, openness and adequacy of any response by or on behalf of the trusts in relation to concerns, complaints, whistleblowing, investigations, inspections and reports (both internal and external)
• the interaction between the trusts and other public bodies, (including, but not limited to, commissioners, coroners, professional regulators and the Care Quality Commission)

The Terms of Reference set out that the Inquiry will make recommendations to improve the provision of mental health inpatient care. It also notes that while it will focus on the two trusts covered in its scope, the Essex Partnership University Foundation NHS Trust and the North East London Foundation Trust (and their predecessor organisations), the chair may make national recommendations that she considers appropriate.