Mental Health Bill [ Lords ] (Ninth sitting)

Debate between Stephen Kinnock and Natasha Irons

Committee stage
Tuesday 24th June 2025 Public Bill Committees

[Natasha Irons]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is about transparency and providing answers for the families of patients when the very worst happens.

Independence has allowed investigations into deaths in places of custody to improve significantly. As outlined by the independent advisory panel on deaths in custody, patients detained under the Mental Health Act now have the highest mortality rate across all places of custody. Indeed, the rate is three times higher than in prisons, when taking into account estimates of time in custody and the number of people in each setting. Behind each of these tragedies are families who have unanswered questions and who have had to fight to find out what happened to their loved ones, and vulnerable people who should have received better care.

In my constituency, there is the story of Catherine Horton, who died in 2017 while in the care of the South London and Maudsley NHS trust. The inquest into her death found that the risk assessment was not properly updated, with no formal risk assessment conducted, and no care plan on her arrival or while at the facility. There is also the story of Tia Wilson, who died in 2021 in the care of the same trust. The inquest into her death found that there were multiple failures in managing her risk, which contributed to her death. Then there is the story of the brother of one of my constituents, who absconded from his care, went missing, and was later found dead in a wooded area a stone’s throw from her home.

For each of those cases, we know that internal reviews will have taken place and assurances of improvements will have been made, and yet issues with risk assessments remain and families are left pushing for answers. This is not unique to south London; the internal review process is failing to deliver the necessary improvements across the country. Without embedding independence into the process, we risk undoing a lot of the good work that the Bill seeks to achieve. Adding independence into the investigation of these incidents where the very worst things happen gives trusts a genuine space to learn the lessons. It would improve patient safety and provide families with the transparency they need.

Although we must all acknowledge the incredible work that trusts do across our country to provide care for people at their most vulnerable, we must also provide a proper framework for challenge and improvement. The new clause is an opportunity to treat the deaths of people detained under the Mental Health Act with the same seriousness and care as deaths in other custody settings, to embed transparency, and to make the meaningful improvements that all patients deserve.

[Stephen Kinnock]

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing this issue to the Committee. I thank her for her powerful speech, which drew on specific experiences of people who have been through very terrible and tragic processes. I have discussed some work on the broader issue of quality of care, but this is a vital issue, and I reiterate how grateful I am to her for enabling us to discuss it on the public record. We recognise that there have been too many incidents of poor-quality and unsafe care, which sometimes result in tragedy. I hope my hon. Friend is reassured by the measures we are taking to support providers of mental health care to improve the quality of their services. We have carefully considered her new clause, and I am afraid that we do not think this needs to be addressed through the Bill.

--- Later in debate ---

[Natasha Irons]

I thank the Minister for his comments. The cluttered and chaotic way in which we investigate these things is part of the problem, so I am glad to hear that there is a wider review of how we streamline the process better for patients, because we are seeing mistakes repeated over and over again. I am content to withdraw the new clause, but I would be grateful if the Minister would meet me to discuss the wider plans in this area and how I can support that work and take it forward.

[Stephen Kinnock]

I would be more than happy to meet my hon. Friend. It is also worth mentioning the independent advisory panel on deaths in custody report, which she mentioned. We are considering that carefully, so we should include it in our discussions.

[Natasha Irons]

I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion.

Clause, by leave, withdrawn.

New Clause 26

Use of restraint and restrictive intervention

“(1) The Mental Health Act 1983 is amended as follows.

(2) In Part II (Compulsory Admission to Hospital and Guardianship), after section 7, insert—

‘7A Use of force in connection with admission for assessment or treatment

(1) A relevant organisation that operates a hospital must appoint a responsible person for the purposes of this section.

(2) The responsible person must—

(a) be employed by the relevant health organisation, and

(b) be of an appropriate level of seniority.

(3) The responsible person must keep a record of any use of force by staff who work in that hospital against a person (“P”) who—

(a) has been admitted for assessment or treatment under sections 2 to 5 of this Act; or

(b) is on the hospital premises and is at risk of detention under this Act.

(4) The Secretary of State must by regulations provide for the risk factors to be considered under subsection (3)(b).

(5) A record kept under this section must include—

(a) the reason for the use of force

(b) the place, date and duration of the use of force

(c) whether the type or types of force used on the patient formed part of the patient's care plan;

(d) the name of the patient on whom force was used;

(e) a description of how force was used;

(f) the patient's consistent identifier;

(g) the name and job title of any member of staff who used force on the patient;

(h) the reason any person who was not a member of staff in the hospital was involved in the use of force on the patient;

(i) the patient's mental disorder (if known);

(j) the relevant characteristics of the patient (if known);

(k) whether the patient has a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorders;

(l) a description of the outcome of the use of force;

(m) whether the patient died or suffered any serious injury as a result of the use of force;

(n) any efforts made to avoid the need to use force on the patient; and

(o) whether a notification regarding the use of force was sent to the person or persons (if any) to be notified under the patient's care plan.

(6) The responsible person must keep the record for three years from the date on which it was made.

(7) The Secretary of State must ensure that, at the end of each year, statistics are published regarding the use of force by staff who work in hospitals under the conditions set out in this section.’”—(Jen Craft.)

This new clause would require hospitals to record information on all incidents in which force is used against patients with mental disorders, in line with the reporting currently required in mental health units, including force against those at risk of detention for assessment or treatment. It would also require the Government to publish annual figures on the same topic.

Brought up, and read the First time.

Mental Health Bill [ Lords ] (Sixth sitting)

Debate between Stephen Kinnock and Natasha Irons

Committee stage
Tuesday 17th June 2025 Public Bill Committees

[Stephen Kinnock]

I understand and recognise my hon. Friend’s concerns, but we can rattle through all the different forums where feedback can be captured: the CQC, the trust boards, the patient and carer race equality framework, Healthwatch England and all the other informal channels in the mental health ecosystem. Our view is that adding another layer into all that would in the end be counterproductive. That is the Government’s position.

[Natasha Irons]

The Minister mentioned the complex network of ways in which patients can give their feedback; perhaps the aim of the clause is to try to simplify that and, as my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock mentioned, make it a bit more direct and immediate after treatment. Are there any plans to simplify the process in another way? The complex cobweb that the Minister described is perhaps the reason why the patient voice is not always captured and utilised in a way that we would want if the services that people rely on are to be improved.

[Stephen Kinnock]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. I do worry about the list of different organisations and agencies throughout the system, and not just in mental health—so many parts of the system have had layer upon layer of bureaucracy added in. That is one of the reasons why we are abolishing NHS England: we want to try to find greater simplicity and clearer channels of communication.

Through the development of the code of practice and the consultation process, simplifying and clarifying the system will be a key objective. Adding another layer would have the opposite effect. But my hon. Friend makes an important point, which will definitely be a part of the process of consultation and development of the guidelines and code of practice. On the basis of those answers, I recommend that we do not adopt the clause.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Kinnock and Natasha Irons

Tuesday 7th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Natasha Irons (Croydon East) (Lab)]

T7. The Family Dental Practice in my constituency has faced significant challenges caused by dental contracts introduced by the previous Government. The pilot scheme it took part in caused long-lasting operational financial damages to the practice. How will the Secretary of State support such practices, and will he consider measures such as rebasing the unit of dental activity targets to help them overcome these challenges?

[Stephen Kinnock]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: the NHS dental contract simply is not working. We are working with the sector to reform the contract, with a shift to focusing on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists. We will deliver on our pledge to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments at the earliest possible opportunity, targeting areas that need them most.