Trust asked to look at number of patient deaths
NHS commissioners have asked a regional mental health trust to investigate a higher than usual number of patient deaths earlier this year.
Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group bosses heard there were 13 ‘serious incidents’, including five deaths, between April and June this year across the whole of Shropshire.
Quality and safety lead Christine Morris said the CCG would like the Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust to carry out a “deep dive” assessment into the figure.
Cathy Riley, managing director of MPFT’s Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin care group, said all serious incidents were investigated under CCG supervision.
She added that there were usually between zero and seven serious incidents a month, so 13 in three months “does not represent any statistical change”.
In a report for the CCG’s governance board, information analyst Niki Jones wrote: “Thirteen serious incidents have been reported in quarter one.
“This is an issue for concern and is being monitored closely. The main cause of SIs is unexpected deaths within the community.”
Telford and Wrekin Council public health director Liz Noakes asked about this, and said: “I have every confidence that it’s being monitored, but are there any particular themes and how are we going to be adapting?”
Mrs Morris said: “It is a higher number than usual. We’ve raised this with the trust, because it feels there are a few more than there used to be. We would like them to do a ‘deep dive’ into that.”
MPFT were not represented at the meeting, held at Wolverhampton University’s Telford campus, but afterwards Ms Riley said: “Any death of a person living with mental health problems is a tragedy.
"The trust investigates all such cases to identify if there is any learning in relation to care provision.”
She added that serious incident investigations were overseen by the CCG concerned.
She said: “In Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin, serious incidents fluctuate between none and seven per month. Not all of these are deaths.
“The average number per month has stayed the same for several years and is equitable with other areas nationally.
“A number of 13 in a quarter does not represent any statistical change.
“Mental health trusts class any death of a person open to their services as a serious incident, whether they are an in-patient or community patient. The majority of serious incidents relate to community patients.”
