Independent Investigations

NHS England is responsible for commissioning independent investigations into the care and treatment of NHS mental health service users. This could be where there has been a homicide committed by the patient, or where the patient died.

The purpose of an independent investigation is to thoroughly review the care and treatment received by the patient so that the NHS can:

  • Be clear about what, if anything, went wrong with their care.
  • Minimise the possibility of a reoccurrence of similar events.
  • Make recommendations for the delivery of health services in the future.

An independent investigation is carried out separately from any police, legal and coroner’s proceedings. It is done by an independent, expert organisation, which is given access to all the information and reports about the individual’s care and treatment (within the usual patient confidentiality rules).  In the interest of openness and transparency, we publish the details of any independent investigations relating to service users of our Trust which were published by NHS England within the last four years. You can view these below.