Harrogate families urged by town's MP to get involved with public inquiry after 'multiple failures in mental health care'
Harrogate’s MP says he does not believe a NHS Trust facing a public inquiry after failing mental health patients in his constituency will be able to “continue in its current form”.
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Tom Gordon said: “I struggle to see how Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation can continue in its current form.
"As this public inquiry begins, it needs input from local people as core participants.
"They’re essential to the much-needed change it needs at a structural and organisational level.”
The Lib Dem MP’s latest remarks on the issue came at an event with his constituents last week to encourage them to get involved with a public inquiry ordered by Health Secretary Wes Streeting into TEWV NHS Foundation Trust and its record of multiple failures in patient care that tragically resulted in preventable deaths.
Tom Gordon has also spoken out in Parliament after hearing growing numbers of distressing accounts from local people failed by the trust, including families who have tragically lost loved ones while under its care.
"This isn’t just a service under pressure; it’s one that’s fundamentally broken,” said Mr Gordon.
"TEWV has been letting families down for far too long, and the Government must step in now to stop further harm.”
At the meeting, the Harrogate MP welcomed Head of Abuse Law and Public Inquiries at Slater & Gordon, Richard Scorer.
The aim was to discuss how the forthcoming public inquiry will work and how local people who have been affected by the care they or their loved ones received from TEWV can give evidence.
The inquiry’s statutory nature gives it full legal powers- requiring evidence to be given under oath and the Trust to provide legal documentation.
While it cannot convict individuals of criminal offences or directly remove them from their jobs, it can give recommendations to investigate how someone practices medicine for example, which in turn can have that effect.
Mr Gordon, who has been working directly with people have lost family members and constituents who have been deeply, personally affected, said: "Richard Scorer is helping people to understand the process and is a great advocate for the cause, having previously worked on the Manchester Arena bombing inquiry.
"I encourage anyone who has been impacted to reach out to him at [email protected] or email me at [email protected]”