In February 2020, NHS Improvement published an Investigation Report, written by Nigel Pascoe QC in relation to Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust. This can be found here.
The Report concluded that specific policy issues should be examined in more detail by an independent Panel at a public investigative hearing.
Attending the Hearings
The hearings for the Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust Stage 2 Review will begin at 10:30 on Thursday 4 March 2021. They shall start with a statement from the Chair of the Review – Mr Nigel Pascoe QC.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the hearings will be taking place remotely, using Microsoft Teams.
If you wish to view the hearing,you will need to email the Panel Secretary in advance to request a link for each day (before 10:00am each day). The link must not be shared with anyone else.
The Panel Secretary can be contacted at: a.scott@pumpcourtchambers.com
The hearings will be taking place over a 6-week period, concluding on 16 April 2021.
29 January 2021 - Information for the panel
NHS Improvement and the Panel are now inviting service users of Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust to provide information to the Panel to inform the investigation.
In line with the Terms of Reference for the hearing process, the Panel will focus on five key policy areas only:
1. Reviewing the need for a new independent investigative process
2. The handling of complaints
3. Communication and liaison with families
4. Action plans
5. Supervision by West Hampshire CCG of those issues.
Further clarification appears in the Conclusions to the Report.
The Panel will consider whether the current policies are appropriate or if they require improvement and if so, it will make recommendations.
The Panel will be interested to hear from service users of Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust who have had relevant experience of these specific policy issues.
However, the Panel will not look into any individual, specific cases or facts arising from your contribution.
If you are interested in providing information to the Panel to consider, please note the following steps:
By 10am on Thursday 11 February 2021 you must have registered your interest by emailing the Panel Secretary, Alice Scott at: a.scott@pumpcourtchambers.com. Then you will be asked to sign a consent form and sent a link to a secure online portal to submit to the Panel a 500-word maximum initial statement, limited to one or more of the policy issues identified, and any relevant documents.
By Friday 12 February 2021, if you submitted a statement as above, you will be informed by the Panel Secretary if the Panel require a further, more detailed written statement from you and you will be sent a link to upload it to the online portal.
By 4pm on Monday 22 February 2021, you must have uploaded your further statement and any relevant documents to the online portal.
If these deadlines are not met, then your evidence will not be considered by the Panel.
The Panel will then decide whether to invite you to give oral evidence and you will be informed of their decision on Friday 26 February 2021.
The hearings are likely to take place between Thursday 4 March and Friday 16 April 2021.
If you have any questions, please email the Panel Secretary, Alice Scott: a.scott@pumpcourtchambers.com.
Please note that due to the Covid-19 pandemic the hearings will be going ahead via a remote video platform. Please notify the Panel Secretary of any access issues.
Data Privacy Notice
Please see the data privacy notice and the Terms of Reference for the hearings embedded below, explaining how we will use and store your data, in accordance with data protection law. These may be requested from the Panel Secretary.
EasyRead Version
Please see an Easy Read document explaining the Stage 2 Review of this investigation.