Woman’s death prompts fresh calls for inquiry into scandal-hit mental health trust

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The death of a young woman a day after she was discharged from a mental health facility has sparked renewed calls for a public inquiry into a scandal-hit trust. In the months before her death, Ms Smith lived at Pavilion Court, a supported living accommodation, and was under the care of EPUT’s community mental health team. “An investigation into her death is underway and we are committed to learning any lessons that will help us provide the best possible care to those that need us.” At least 68 families have called for a public inquiry into mental health services in Essex, led by Melanie Leahy, whose son Matthew died at the Linden Centre in 2012. Nina Ali, a solicitor at Hodge Jones & Allen, which is supporting the Wolffs and other families, told The Independent: “It is worrying that the government has and continues to completely ignore the call led by Melanie Leahy, now supported by some 68 families and individuals, for the current independent inquiry to be converted to a full statutory inquiry on the basis that the current inquiry – which lacks the statutory power to compel relevant documentary evidence to be obtained and to compel witnesses to attend and give their evidence under oath – will ultimately prove to be a complete waste of time and money.”