A public inquiry into a scandal-hit mental health trust is still without a chair.
More than six months after the announcement that Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys (TEWV) NHS Foundation Trust would undergo a statutory investigation, the government has said that a chair will be appointed “soon”.
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Labour MP Luke Myer submitted a written question to Health Secretary James Murray on June 16, asking what progress had been made in appointing a chair to the investigation into TEWV NHS Trust and “what steps he is taking to ensure that the inquiry can begin consultation on its terms of reference”.
The organisation has come under intense scrutiny in recent years over its management of cases, including the deaths of three teenage girls - Christie Harnett, 17, Nadia Sharif, 17, and Emily Moore, 18 - in 2019 and 2020.
In December 2025, then-Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced a statutory public inquiry into mental health services at the trust would be held.
The announcement was made as he met with families in Darlington who lost loved ones under the care of the trust.
Afterwards, he praised The Northern Echo for its coverage of issues at the Trust
He said: “I want to thank The Northern Echo for its tenacious reporting, shining a light on families’ experiences and holding authorities to account.
“For too long, patients and families in this region have been let down by failures at the trust - too many lives lost, too many families left without answers."
Answering Mr Myer’s question on behalf of the government on June 30, Labour MP Preet Kaur Gill said the department of health and social care is “fully committed” to setting up the statutory public inquiry into “the serious harms” that took place at the trust.
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She added: “The department has begun work to set up the inquiry, the inquiry secretary is in post, and we anticipate announcing the chair soon. The terms of reference are the responsibility of the chair once in post.”
Back in May, it was reported that families and patients impacted by the failures at TEWV NHS Trust claimed the government had “gone silent” and left them in “limbo”, following pledges of a public inquiry.
It was previously reported that the three teenagers – who took their own lives – were each failed, with 119 shortcomings within the NHS and social care identified.
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