The mother of a boy with autism who drowned in a bath when under NHS care has renewed her call for full investigations into the unexpected deaths of people with learning disabilities.
Sara Ryan says it is “crucial” that authorities bring proper scrutiny to bear to better understand why the deaths happened.
Sara Ryan: she says it’s crucial there are proper investigations into unexpected deaths
Her son Connor, 18, who also had epilepsy, was found dead in NHS unit Slade House, in Oxfordshire, in July 2013.
Oxford Crown Court fined Southern Health £2m last month over Connor’s death and that of Teresa Colvin, 45. She was found hanged at a Hampshire mental health unit in 2012.
In the wake of Connor’s death NHS England commissioned consultancy firm Mazars to carry out a review. It looked at the deaths of those with learning disabilities and mental health problems in the care of Southern Health between April 2011 and March 2015.
722 unexpected deaths
Mazars found 722 unexpected deaths of people with learning disabilities or mental health problems during the four-year period.
It also found there were investigations into just 272 of them.
And in 2013 a Bristol University team examined the early deaths of people with learning disabilities.
The Bristol team wrote a report, titled Confidential Inquiry into Premature Deaths of People with Learning Disabilities (CIPOLD).
It recommended there should be a national learning disability mortality review body.
‘Simply not good enough’
Ryan said it was “simply not good enough” that the Government refused on cost grounds to set up the review body.
Dan Scorer is Mencap’s head of policy. He said all the unexplained deaths highlighted in the Mazars review should “be investigated independently”.
A Department of Health spokesperson said from July every NHS trust will publish data on case reviews of deaths. The figures would include the number thought to be due to problems in care.
Julie Dawes is Southern Health’s director of nursing. She urged families concerned about the care their loved ones received to come forward and promised “appropriate action”.
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Published: 10 April 2018
