An inquiry into the deaths of more than 2,000 people while under the care of Essex mental health services is set to hear evidence from health and safety officials, as families continue their fight for answers and accountability.
The Lampard Inquiry, chaired by Baroness Kate Lampard, is investigating deaths that occurred between 2000 and 2023 in NHS-run children and adult inpatient units across Essex. The patients were under the care of the Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) and the North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT). The inquiry, which previously heard harrowing testimonies from bereaved families, has moved from Essex to Arundel House in London for its latest hearings.
Last year, Baroness Lampard warned that the true number of deaths may never be fully known but said it is expected to be “significantly in excess” of the 2,000 cases reported so far. The inquiry focuses on deaths that occurred in inpatient settings, as well as certain deaths in the community where patients were recently discharged, refused a bed, or were awaiting admission.
The next phase of hearings, running from Monday until 15 May, will include evidence from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Campaigners and grieving families have vowed to maintain pressure on the inquiry to ensure the full scale of failings is recognised.
Melanie Leahy, whose 20-year-old son Matthew died while receiving care at the Linden Centre in Essex, will be among those protesting outside the hearing. She said:
“It’s been years of heartbreak, unanswered questions, and fighting just to be heard, having lost two loved ones to a system that was supposed to care for them.
We cannot ignore the reality that over 2,000 deaths under Essex mental health are under investigation. That number keeps growing.
Behind every statistic is a person – a son, a daughter, a friend. This is not just numbers on a page, these are real lives that have been cut short.
This inquiry is more than a box-ticking exercise. It’s a chance to bring the truth to light. Our loved ones cannot rest in peace until the truth about the mental health failings is exposed.
If the inquiry does nothing to change the poor services, people will continue to be abused, overmedicated, and die.”
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Legal representatives for families have also stressed the vital importance of transparency and systemic change. Nina Ali, a partner at Hodge Jones & Allen, which represents 126 families affected by the failings, said:
“This is a pivotal moment for our clients, the enormity of which we hope is not lost on anyone who provides evidence during this section of the inquiry.
We must hold a mirror up to our mental health services and face the grave reality that our clients have suffered and are continuing to suffer.
We are deeply concerned that these issues are not solely exclusive to Essex.
We are hopeful that everyone will come to the inquiry with the same aim – to expose the truth. Without full transparency, lessons cannot be learned, and lives will still be lost.”
Responding to the developments, Paul Scott, chief executive of Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“As the inquiry progresses, there will be many accounts of people who were much loved and missed over the past 24 years and I want to say how sorry I am for their loss.
All of us across healthcare have a responsibility to work together to improve care and treatment for all and to build on the improvements that have already been made over the last 24 years.”
The families, campaigners, and their legal teams hope the inquiry will deliver the justice and systemic reform that have eluded them for so long — and finally bring peace to the memory of those lost under Essex’s mental health care.
