During a House of Commons debate following an independent review into the deaths of three young adults at Cawston Park Hospital, James called for the police and other authorities to look again at the evidence to hold those account for the deaths
The debate led by Jerome Mayhew MP for Broadland, where Cawston Park Hospital was based until it closed, followed Norfolk Safeguarding Adults Board publishing an important Safeguarding Adults Review into the deaths of three young adults: Joanna, “Jon” and Ben (all in their 30s). They had learning disabilities and had been patients at Cawston Park Hospital. They died within a 27-month period (April 2018 to July 2020).
In response, Jerome agreed with James that the management team and owners should be held to account for the events and urged the police and the Care Quality Commission to conduct a rigorous investigation.
Text of the question and response:
James Wild MP said: " I am grateful to my hon. Friend for securing this debate on the tragic events in Norfolk and for the powerful case he is making. One of the most alarming elements of this very shocking report is the final hours of Ben, which my hon. Friend mentioned. Ben’s mum, Gina, said: "If you ill-treat an animal, you get put in prison. But people ill-treated my son and they’re still free.” That is completely unacceptable, and the police and the authorities should look again at all the leads and all the evidence and review that to hold those people to account."
Jerome Mayhew MP said:" My hon. Friend is absolutely right that management teams and owners should personally fear prison as a response to a culture failure. If a culture of neglect is tolerated by their acts or, more likely, by their omissions, there needs to be personal liability. People need to fear prison, because there will be no change without individuals being held personally to account for allowing this culture of indifference. I profoundly hope that the most rigorous investigations are undertaken by the police and the Care Quality Commission, with a focus on individual prosecutions if justified by the evidence. There have been no prosecutions to date."
The full debate can be viewed here.
