Between February 2021 and June 2022, 41 Durham and Darlington crisis team patients have died. Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust (TEWV) claimed that significant improvements were made in June 2022, after the death of David Stevens who phoned 37 times for help. However, the figures have revealed that a further 20 people have died within 12 months.
In June 2022, David Stevens, 57, died in his own home in Willington, County Durham. Stevens had phoned the TEWV County Durham and Darlington crisis team multiple times. An inquest on the 17th of October heard that at the time of Stevens’ calls to the crisis team, the crisis team was in special measures and had been experiencing a staffing crisis with unqualified practitioners taking calls.
The Northern Echo revealed that 41 mental health patients died unexpectedly between February 2021 and June 2023, within six months of contacting the crisis team. The new information has revealed that 20 of these unexpected deaths occurred in the 12 months between June 2022 and June 2023, following David Stevens’ death.
Alistair Smith and Lucy Wennington, Watson Woodhouse, said,
“These numbers are awful and show a trust that doesn’t learn despite senior managers repeatedly stating that things have changed. It appears that just coming out of a business continuity plan is thought of as a success…it isn’t and shows just how low the standard of care provided by TEWV has fallen. How many more patients have to lose their lives before the government listens to the calls by us and the many bereaved families for a public inquiry into these shocking and ongoing failings at Tees, Esk, and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust.”
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In the Media:
20 patients died after calling TEWV crisis team since ‘improvements’ | The Northern Echo
https://www.watsonwoodhouse.co.uk/critical-governance-report-finds-leadership-failure-at-nhs-trust/