Inquiry into deaths from mental illness aims to uncover alleged failings of ‘shocking’ proportions

Baroness Kate Lampard CBE said at the opening of the Lampard Inquiry that “it is possible that we will never be provided with a definitive death toll as part of the Inquiry”.

She said she was “determined to publish a figure” but “that figure will most likely be an approximation and I find it shocking that we may never be able to say with certainty how many people have died as a result of this investigation.”

However, she said the number would be “well over” 2,000.

Numerous grieving parents and families gathered outside the Chelmsford coroner's office on Monday and placed posters with photos of their deceased relatives on the pavement.

One of the banners read “We will not be silenced,” another read “We demand change on truth, justice and accountability,” and a third read “Essex mental health services have failed it.”

Some grieving parents had indicated they would protest outside the venue because they had been denied core participant status in the inquiry, a special status that gives them participation rights, including the right to ask questions of the inquiry committee through their lawyer.

The Lampard Inquiry will examine the deaths of people receiving inpatient psychiatric treatment in Essex between 2000 and 2023.

This includes people who died within three months of discharge and people who received NHS-funded treatment as inpatients in the independent sector.

The Essex Independent Mental Health Inquiry was established in 2021 without statutory status.

Last year, the court was given a legal basis that now gives it the legal power to compel witnesses to testify.

Opening the inquiry on Monday, Baroness Lampard said the hearings would “investigate matters of the greatest concern and significance”.

She said the inquiry would “investigate alleged failings on a deeply shocking scale”.

She expressed her “deepest condolences” to the relatives of the deceased and observed a minute’s silence as a sign of her respect.

“Every death is a tragedy,” she said, praising the “courage, resilience and strength that the families have shown in some of these extremely tragic circumstances, including bringing some of the issues to light.”

“Without their dedicated and tireless efforts, we probably would not be here today,” said Baroness Lampard.