Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the increase in unexpected patient deaths reported by England’s mental health trusts; and what steps they are taking to reduce the number of such deaths.

The Government wants to make the National Health Service the safest, most transparent healthcare system in the world - the first step towards this ambition is to collect safety data more reliably. The level of reported harm has increased as a result of our very deliberate improvements in the way such events are recorded and investigated.

The Government has introduced requirements for the reliable reporting of any safety incidents, all of which should be investigated fully at a local level then reported to NHS England.

From April 2017, all NHS trusts and foundation trusts will be required to publish numbers of avoidable deaths and how they are improving care.