In the UK, more than 8,000 people have died during their mental health treatment. Due to this situation, people from Norfolk and Suffolk requested the police investigate this issue.
The campaigns of Norfolk and Suffolk mental health services sent a letter to the chief constables regarding the deaths of 8440 patients during their mental health treatment. This decision was taken by the campaign based on the deaths of 8440 people in the past three years.
Esther Brenan, mother of a victim, said that her 21-year-old son, Theo Brennan Hulme, was a student, and he suffered from severe anxiety in 2019. Even though he was referred to community mental health services in Norfolk for an assessment, he did not attend his follow-up sessions. Six days after his assessment, he was found dead in his university bedroom after committing suicide.
The chairman of the campaign for mental health services in Norfolk and Suffolk, Mark Harrison, said that in the history of National Health Services, it is the biggest death crisis that has happened in mental health services. He also said that the police are informed about this issue as all their other options to save people’s lives have failed.
The people from the campaign for mental health services said that several reports mentioned delays in treatment, poor record-keeping, a lack of patient follow-up, and a lack of proper communication among the team in the trust.
Coroners in the state published Prevention of Future Death Reports (PFD) following this issue and sent them to various mental health organizations to get a response regarding the coroner’s concerns.
In response to PFD, the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust said that they responded to their concerns about future deaths and implemented their recommendations.
Mark Harrison said that it is a criminal case that requires a response from the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust. He also said that this trust always gives a response stating that they have learned their lessons and are changing their policies and practices.
The new Chief Executive Officer of Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust, Caroline Donovan, has appointed a patient safety advisor to overcome this issue. A spokeswoman from the trust offered her sincere condolences to the families of the affected patients and ensured to work hard and minimize such incidents in the future.
(Input from various media sources)
(Rehash/Rohini Devi)
