Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust has been ordered to pay a total of £215,170 after pleading guilty to two charges of failing to provide safe care and treatment to two people, exposing them to a significant risk of avoidable harm, following a sentencing hearing today (Friday 19 April) at Teesside Magistrates’ Court, in a prosecution brought by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The first charge is in relation to Christie Harnett (also known as Christie Brayley), who had been under the care of community child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) since 2017, until her death in 2019.
Christie sadly died in hospital on 27 June 2019 following an incident on 23 June, when she was able to take her own life, while she was being treated at the Newberry Centre at West Lane Hospital. The trust was aware of Christie trying to harm herself in an almost identical way, twice before, in the months leading up to her death, yet they failed to mitigate her known risk adequately.
The trust pleaded guilty to the offence of failure to provide safe care and treatment to Christie, for which the trust was fined £140,000.
The second charge was in relation to person X, who had a history of involvement with NHS mental health services, and in particular Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust since 2009.
In November 2020 there was an incident on a ward at Roseberry Park Hospital, where person X was involved in a self-inflicted incident, and sadly died at a later date as a result of their injuries. The trust was aware that the person had tried to harm themselves in a similar way, days before their death, however, again the trust failed to adequately mitigate the risk that person X was exposed to.
For the case regarding person X, the trust was fined £60,000.
The court also ordered the trust to pay £170 victim surcharge and £15,000 costs.
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust did not take all reasonable steps to ensure that safe care and treatment was provided and that this failure exposed both Christie and person X to a significant risk of avoidable harm.
In order to protect people, it is a legal requirement for any provider of health and social care in England to comply with CQC regulations.
There are a number of enforcement actions CQC can and will take before prosecution to encourage and support improvement. People are entitled to receive safe care and treatment when they put their trust in health and care services, and providers should be held to account when significant avoidable failures occur.
The size of the fine is a decision made by the court and is informed by sentencing guidelines. CQC does not have influence over this decision.
Ann Ford, CQC director of operations in the north, said:
“These are tragic cases, and my thoughts are with both families and others grieving for their loss.
“People have the right to safe care and treatment, which Christie and person X didn’t receive from Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust.
“The trust failed to learn from earlier incidents, which could potentially have avoided these tragic outcomes. The trust should have ensured they were providing safe care and treatment to minimise the risks to Christie and person X, however, sadly this was not the case.
“I hope this prosecution reminds health and social care organisations they must provide care in a safe way that meets the needs of people, so they receive the safe care and treatment they deserve.”