Fresh plea for public inquiry into Tees, Esk and Wear Valley trust

Christie Harnett, 17, Nadia Sharif, 17, and Emily Moore, 18, died within an eight month period at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust facilities.

All three had been treated by TEWV for several years – and a long-running independent investigation into their deaths is continuing.

Now family-run pressure group “Rebuild Trust” has renewed pleas for a public inquiry into TEWV in the wake of their painful losses.

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A new website sharing the stories of the three girls has been set up – as well as a petition to “force a full and transparent investigation” into what the families say were repeated failings and missed opportunities.

Leaflets on the campaign are set to be handed out at Middlesbrough’s Tuesday night FA Cup fixture against Tottenham Hotspur.

Emily, from Shildon in County Durham, died in February 2020 after being found unresponsive at Lanchester Road Hospital, in County Durham.

She had previously been a patient at West Lane – where her dad, David, had protested outside the hospital with a banner at the level of care she was receiving.

Mr Moore believed there was “definitely a need” for a public inquiry into the trust.

He added: “When you see all the failures, substandard care and lack of compassion in the hospitals it’s mind-boggling.

“It’s not just TEWV, it’s nationwide.

“Mental health needs a big shake-up and needs to change – especially for those of a young age.”

Christie and Nadia died while in the care of West Lane Hospital in 2019.

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The Care Quality Commission visited wards and raised serious concerns that same year – rating child and adolescent mental health wards “inadequate” after uncovering “low staffing, a poor culture, and a significant number of self-harming incidents”.

Wards were eventually closed down with responsibility handed to Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust (CNTW) in 2020, and the hospital’s name changed to Acklam Road last year.

The pressure group remains concerned about failings flagged up in recent CQC inspections – with fears patients and their families are still being failed and aren’t being listened to.

A Rebuild Trust statement added: “We have become united by our grief and determined that their deaths will not have been in vain, and the substandard care they were subject to will not continue.”

Calls for a public inquiry have grown louder in recent weeks with Stockton councillors grilling TEWV leaders at a recent select committee.

Bosses insisted they were working to turn TEWV around – with work on culture and leadership in particular.

But Mr Moore told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the trust still needed to change.

The 53-year-old said: “How many times have the CQC been in there? How many times have their own staff spoken out against them?

“There are patients and ex-patients speaking out as well. Something is not right – I’ve seen it with my own eyes and it just needs a big shake-up.”

Emily spent time at West Lane before later moving to Ferndene Hospital, in Northumberland, and finally on to Lanchester Road.

Mr Moore said the two trusts, CNTW and TEWV, were “like chalk and cheese” – adding he’d been to see Acklam Road Hospital.

He added: “It’s taken a different trust to get us three families in a room together – not TEWV but CNTW.

“We went in that hospital and were shown around – it’s totally different.”

Mr Moore said the last contact their family had with TEWV was on what would have been Emily’s 19th birthday – February 4, 2021.

He also believed a public inquiry would bring out more information which wouldn’t be raised in the independent investigation.

Mr Moore added: “It just needs to be better than it is at the moment.”

Chief executive Brent Kilmurray took over the top job at the trust in June 2020.

In response to the families, he said: “Our hearts go out to the families and friends of Nadia, Christie, and Emily for the loss they have suffered, and we are deeply sorry.

“We are fully cooperating with an independent investigation, commissioned by NHS England and Improvement.

“Since 2019 we have made significant changes both in personnel and how we treat those in our care. We know compassion and respect needs to be at the centre of everything we do.

“However, there remain challenges to overcome, not least in changing our culture and relieving staffing pressures.

“These are not quick fixes and come at a time when the demand for mental health services across the country is peaking.

“We know what needs to be done and I promise the families that we are working extremely hard to deliver the changes they have every right to expect.”

The new website can be visited at: www.rebuildtrust.co.uk

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