Wes Streeting to meet families calling for TEWV inquiry
Grieving families will look Wes Streeting in the eye and say the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys (TEWV) trust failed their families as they ask him to order an inquiry.
It comes after years of campaigning for a probe into the trust which was last year fined £200k for the deaths of two patients.
Alistair Smith, solicitor representing the families, said: “This is an opportunity for families to raise concerns directly to help drive positive change.”
David Moore, whose daughter Emily died in the trust’s care in 2020, said: “I’m looking forward to the meeting. It is one step closer to a public inquiry.”
In December the Echo told how Mr Streeting had agreed to meet with the families who lost loved ones.
Today (Wednesday, January 12) the families of Christie Harnett, 17, Viktor Scott-Brown, 23, Beth Cunningham, 21, and Jay Jones, 23, will travel to London ahead of a meeting tomorrow morning.
Twenty more grieving families will dial into the meeting from Middlesbrough tomorrow.
The Northern Echo has been backing calls for an inquiry, including in our General Election manifesto backed by Labour last June.
Last May we joined 11 families in writing to then-PM Rishi Sunak, saying they, and their loved ones “deserve a public inquiry at the very least”.
The letter said: “TEWV NHS Trust has failed in its duty to provide patients with safe care. Lessons need to be learned to improve mental health services not just about this trust but on a national level.
“Without a public inquiry, lessons will not be learned, practices will not change, and more people will die. Public confidence is at an all-time low in relation to the trust.”
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It comes days after a CQC report said the trust still needs to improve.
Andy McDonald, MP for Middlesbrough said: “I remain of the view that the correct course of action would be for a public inquiry to be held that not only identifies those office holders whose decision led to these avoidable deaths but looked more broadly at the systemic issues and the culture that obtained at the times of these tragedies that allowed such terrible and tragic outcomes.”