The Government has apologised after an investigation found three teenage girls died after “multifaceted and systemic” failures in NHS mental health care.
Christie Harnett, 17, Nadia Sharif, 17 and Emily Moore, 18, had all been diagnosed with complex mental health needs and had been patients at West Lane Hospital in Middlesbrough.
Damning new reports into the deaths of teenagers identify a shocking 119 failings in health and social care which led to their deaths.
Health minister Maria Caulfield told MPs she will examine calls for a public inquiry amid concerns over inpatient mental health services.
Read more: Teenagers died after 'appalling' care at Durham and Middlesbrough hospitals
Ministers will make a decision “in the coming days” on whether a full public inquiry or a “rapid review” should be carried out into the failings.
Responding to an urgent question, Ms Maria Caufield told MPs: “The findings from the investigation into the deaths make for painful reading and the death of any young person is a tragedy, and all the more so when that young person should have been receiving care and support.
“My thoughts and I’m sure the thoughts of this whole House are with their families and friends, and I want to apologise for the failings in the care that they received.”
“On the issue of a public inquiry, I am not necessarily saying there won’t be a public inquiry but it needs to be on a national basis and not just on an individual trust basis, because as we’ve seen in maternity very often when we repeat these inquiries they produce the same information and we need to learn systemically about how to reduce these failings.
“The issue I have with a public inquiry is they’re not timely, they can take many years, and we’ve clearly got some cases now which need some urgent review and some urgent action.
“So I will look at her request, but I am taking urgent advice – as is the Secretary of State – because we take this extremely seriously and one death from a failing of care is one death too many.”
Conservative MP Paul Howell for Sedgefield paid tribute to the families of three girls who died in the care of the trust, calling for ministers to back an inquiry.
He read out testimony from one of the families, telling the Commons: “It is emotional this, but Christie’s family in their statement in the report, their description of Christie was that ‘family was everything to Christie and we all miss her so much, nothing will ever be the same again now that our sunshine has gone’.”
Mr Howell added: “It is imperative that we do all that we can to give the families of these young ladies what little satisfaction can be delivered by a proper and full inquiry into these atrocious failings.”
Health minister Maria Caulfield said: “In terms of a public inquiry I haven’t said no at this stage, but we do need to urgently address those issues and make sure that nationally the same failings aren’t happening across the board.
“My concern about a public inquiry is the time that these inquiries take and whether a rapid review would be more appropriate. I will make that decision in the coming days once advice has been taken.”
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