Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Trust pays out £4.3m over mental health negligence
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust has paid out £4.3m over poor care in mental health and psychiatry services, an investigation has found.
New figures obtained by Medical Negligence Assist found the staggering sum was paid out by the healthcare provider over five years up to April 2024 to deal with claims of mental health clinical negligence.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) who inspected mental health units at the Trust ruled they ‘require improvement’ after finding recommendations from a prior visit had not been made.
Inspectors found there were not always enough staff to meet patient’s needs safely and that not all staff had the training needed.
Now, a nationwide investigation by Medical Negligence Assist has revealed that since 2019, 21 claims and incidents of mental health negligence within the trust have been reported to NHS Resolution which handles negligence cases on behalf of the health service.
Of those, the Trust has settled 12 with damages totalling £4,383,762.
Findings follow the launch of the long-awaited Lampard Inquiry which began on Monday, September 9, and is the first public inquiry specifically looking into mental health deaths.
It is set to focus on the deaths of more than 2,000 mental health patients under the care of the NHS in Essex but is likely to have wider implications for mental healthcare across the NHS.
The inquiry was prompted partly by the death of 20-year-old, Matthew Leahy who died in November 2012 after he was found unresponsive in his room at a secure mental health unit in Chelmsford eight days after he was sectioned.
An inquest found his death occurred after a “series of multiple failings and missed opportunities.”
Since then, families in similar circumstances have been campaigning for reform across mental health services.
The NHS as a whole has paid out at least £121m in mental health and psychiatry negligence claims in the last five years.
That includes £51m over claims related to death, £28m for claims relating to failures or delays in treatment and a further £18m over claims related to self-harm.
Fatalities were the most common reason for mental health negligence claims made against the NHS.
A staggering 1,127 claims and incidents of death have been lodged against NHS Trusts since 2019 with 457 claims settled with damages totalling £51.2m.
Other common injuries resulting from clinical negligence in mental health or psychiatry services included brain damage, psychological damage, lower amputation, and spinal damage.
These could be due to a multitude of reasons including inadequate staff training in restraint techniques, leading to permanent and life-changing physical injury.
The Lampard Inquiry is being chaired by Baroness Lampard who previously led the investigation into abuse by Jimmy Savile in the NHS.
Medical Negligence Assist offers specialist advice and support regarding mental health and psychiatry clinical negligence claims.
They operate a 24-hour helpline and live chat service which you can access on their website.
