Important Update from TEWV: publication of three independent investigation reports

The reports look at the care and treatment we provided at West Lane Hospital in Middlesbrough, and for one of the young women at Lanchester Road Hospital in Durham, as well as the actions from partner organisations. The investigation leading to the reports was commissioned by NHS England and carried out by Niche Health and Social Care Consulting.

Three individual reports have been produced which include recommendations for us and other organisations.

We apologise unreservedly to the families for the failings in the care of the young women. We will continue to work extremely hard to deliver the changes that they have every right to expect.

TEWV Chief Executive, Brent Kilmurray, has issued a statement, which can be read on our Trust website, along with the three reports and the response to the recommendations – the links to these are below.

Many of the recommendations have already been addressed within our services and while we no longer deliver children and young people’s mental health inpatient services we continue to provide community mental health services for children and young people across the region.

In the three years since these tragedies, we’ve made significant improvements – how we assess the risks to our patients, how we organise and staff our services, and how we more closely involve the families and loved ones themselves.

These improvements are being delivered through a five-year change programme called Our Journey to Change, driven by three big goals to create a great experience for patients, carers and their families, and for staff, and partners.

We have an unrelenting focus on patient safety, with clear priorities set out in our patient safety strategy. This is supported by a quality assurance programme, and data shows that we have made considerable progress. These are continually measured, evaluated and reported upon.

We are working hard to put patients and carers at the centre of everything we do – treating everyone with respect and compassion and taking responsibility for our actions.

All the necessary changes are being made with the knowledge and oversight of the Care Quality Commission and NHS England.

Thank you for your continued support.