Family Consultation Day Report on deaths of people with mental ill health, a learning disability or autism (INQUEST, 26 April 2023)

Summary

This report by the charity INQUEST, which provides expertise on state related deaths and their investigation to bereaved people, highlights that families are facing persistent challenges following the death of a loved one in mental health services.

Based on conversations at one of INQUEST’s Family Consultation Days, the report shows that families face numerous hurdles during investigations and inquests into their loved ones’ deaths, and that processes are not delivering the change required. The Family Consultation Day heard from 14 family members who were bereaved by deaths in the care of mental health services or settings for people with learning disabilities and/or autism, and had faced or were going through inquests and investigations.

Content

Key concerns raised by families include:

• a lack of candour, transparency and accountability
• inadequate levels of communication between families and the bodies responsible for care
• feeling that they were immediately placed on the backfoot during investigations into their loved ones’ death. 

Families are calling for major changes to the investigatory and inquest system, including: 

• independent investigations into mental health related deaths
• a national coronial service to address inconsistences in the inquest system
• non-means tested legal funding for all families involved in inquests where state bodies are involved to provide proper equality of arms.

Attachments