Concern that NHS ‘not learning’ from mental health death reports Safety investigations which occur after a person died during or shortly after care during a stay in a mental health facility are often seen as a “tick box exercise” and could be “compounding harm” for those affected, according to a new report.
A new report from the patient safety watchdog highlights how bereaved families have described having to “fight” to be involved in the investigation into the death of their loved one.
Families said they wanted safety investigations into the death of their loved one to “mean something”, but many described their involvement in the process as “tokenistic”.
Meanwhile, a family member described the investigation process as “worse than the actual death because they were reliving the death [of their family member] over and over again”.
The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) said there was evidence that the healthcare system “is not learning” from patient deaths.
