Families seeking trust inquiry to meet Streeting
Family handoutFamilies calling for a public inquiry into an NHS trust are to meet Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
Last year, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust was ordered to pay £215,000 for safety failings which contributed to the deaths of two vulnerable patients in Middlesbrough.
Relatives, including those of 17-year-old Christie Harnett, who took her own life in 2019, are travelling to London on Thursday to press for further government action.
At the time of the court hearing over the death of Christie and an unnamed woman, the trust offered "heartfelt apologies". It declined to comment ahead of the families' meeting with the government.
Christie and the woman, who was anonymised to protect her family's identity, both took their own lives at separate hospitals in Middlesbrough, which were run by the trust.
Christie's grandmother, Casey Tremain, from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, said a public inquiry would help to bring about justice.
She said: "A public inquiry will let everybody see how bad things are and hopefully trigger a corner to be turned to make significant differences."
More families, who allege poor care by the trust relating to the deaths of patients over a number of years, are also expected at the meeting.
Others will attend remotely at the Middlesbrough office of law firm Watson Woodhouse.
Their solicitor, Alistair Smith, said: "Each of these families has a tale to tell where they believe the death should have been avoided."
Mr Smith said the inquiry needed to be statutory so people within the trust could be ordered to give evidence.
"There's been nothing like that," he said.
"You will then get to the bottom of what happened, how it happened and how it could be prevented in the future."
Last week, inspectors from the Care Quality Commission said the trust's overall rating remained "requires improvement".