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Mental Health Solicitors
CQC to prosecute Southern Health over alleged failure to protect patients at risk (7 March 2017)
Date: 07/03/2017
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has announced that Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust will be prosecuted over an alleged failure to provide safe care and treatment, resulting in avoidable harm to a patient and other patients being exposed to a significant risk of avoidable harm.
The prosecution follows an incident in December 2015, when a patient sustained serious injuries after falling from a low roof at Melbury Lodge at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester.
Melbury Lodge provides services which include a mental health unit for mothers and their babies, as well as older patients suffering from mental health problems.
The trust serves around 45,000 patients in Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Buckinghamshire and Dorset.
CQC Inspectors visited Southern Health as part of a focused inspection during January 2016, following publication of an independent report – the Mazars report – commissioned by NHS England.
In April 2016, the Care Quality Commission told Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust that it must make significant improvements to protect patients at risk of harm whilst in the care of their mental health and learning disability services.
Following news of the impending prosecution, interim chief executive of Southern Health, Julie Dawes, said:
“I express again our apologies to the patient involved – and the patient’s family. The safety of people using our services is of central importance to us – and we are doing everything we can to improve the safety and quality of our services at present."
“Since the incident, the trust has made significant improvements to Melbury Lodge, investing over £1 million. This includes climb-proof guttering to prevent a similar incident taking place as well as comprehensive refurbishment of the interior to make the ward safer and more therapeutic for patients.”
Southern Health mental health trust is the first NHS trust to be prosecuted following legislation introduced after the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust scandal.
The case will be heard at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court at a date to be set.
Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors
Duncan Lewis is the UK’s largest provider of Legal Aid mental health services and can advise mental health patients on a wide range of issues – including access to NHS mental health services and detention under the Mental Health Act.
Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors regularly visit NHS hospitals to advise on mental health law – and are available across England and Wales at short notice for hospital and police station appointments.
In some cases, Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors may be able to advise the nearest relative or carer of a mental health patient on a range of issues, including initiating treatment reviews where appropriate.
For expert legal advice on mental health law, call the Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors Helpline on 020 3114 1124.