Rachael Maskell MP welcomes start date for inquiry into TEWV

The government announced that the inquiry into the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV) will formally start on Monday (September 21).

Retired judge Roderick John Conwy Potter will chair the inquiry ordered by former health secretary Wes Streeting last December.

TEWV has long said it will cooperate with the inquiry.

The trust has been dogged by calls, including from The Press, for a full statutory inquiry after being convicted and fined over the deaths of two patients and blamed at inquests for contributing to the deaths of others, slammed by watchdogs, and branded as ‘requiring improvement’.

The government announced that the inquiry into the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV) will formally start on Monday (September 21) (Image: Sarah Caldecott)

York Central MP Rachael Maskell, who met with the prime minister to discuss the TEWV inquiry, hailed the start date being set as a “huge step forwards”.

It is understood that admin for the inquiry will begin on Monday, with a date for its first public hearing yet to be announced.

Ms Maskell said: “Families who have suffered loss and unimaginable grief have waited in limbo for years to have their voices heard. This has been a complete systemic failure and should never be allowed to happen again. Others have not received the care they should from NHS mental health services.

“The announcement of this date is a huge step forwards in giving families who have lost loved ones and individuals who have suffered poor care the opportunity to hold those responsible to account and drive urgent improvements in mental health services.

“I will continue to work alongside families, Healthwatch and others going through this process to ensure justice is served and that robust change is delivered.”

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Judge Potter, a retired circuit judge and former deputy judge in the Court of Appeal’s criminal division with more than 40 years’ experience, said he was “honoured to have been appointed to chair the TEWV inquiry”.

“My first priority will be to meet and listen to those affected. Their voices and experiences will be central to the inquiry’s work and will help inform the development of its terms of reference,” he said.

“The inquiry will approach its task independently, thoroughly and fairly, and with respect for everyone who takes part. I will work with the inquiry team to put the necessary arrangements in place so that our work can begin as promptly as proper preparation allows.”

As chair of a full statutory inquiry, Judge Potter will have the power to compel witnesses to give evidence.

Health secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The families who were let down by the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust have suffered immeasurable pain.

“Judge Potter has been asked to deliver a report explaining why things went so wrong across the trust’s mental health services and what must change.”