Mental-health deaths under-reported, charity warns

Inquest, a charity for bereaved families, has called upon the government to investigate the way deaths of young people with mental health problems are being recorded.

The news comes after research by the charity has suggested there have been at least nine young people which have died in England as in-patients since 2010. However, the Department of Health (DoH) has argued that there have been four deaths recorded by NHS England of young people in an ‘in-patient setting’.

In an interview with the BBC’s Panorama, Health Minister Alistair Burt said: "Panorama's investigation has unearthed questions about record-keeping and I'm seeking assurances from NHS England that they have the right processes in place for recording any such death and that lessons are learned.”

Inquest director Deborah Coles said: "My fear is there could be more deaths. Neither we nor the DoH knows.”

Inquest submitted a number of Freedom of Information (FoI) requests and received responses from various of NHS Trusts, private providers, local safeguarding children boards, local councils, the Department for Education, the DoH and the Care Quality Commission. The data found that at least nine young people have died as in-patients. Coles has called for a statutory notification and an independent investigation when a child dies in a mental health unit.

Coles said: “How on earth can we learn if we don't know the true picture and circumstances? If a child dies in prison, an independent investigation follows automatically. There isn't that independent scrutiny given to these deaths."