NHS trust to support inquiry after girls' deaths
Family handoutsA regional health trust has vowed to support a public inquiry with "openness and transparency" after the deaths of three teenagers.
Bosses at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS mental health trust (TEWV) responded after the government answered calls for the probe following years of campaigning by families.
They included the families of Christie Harnett and Nadia Sharif, who were treated at West Lane Hospital in Middlesbrough, where they died by suicide both aged 17, and Emily Moore, 18, who also took her own life after being treated there.
Beverly Murphy, the trust's chief nurse, said it is "absolutely right and proper" that the decision for the inquiry was made in December.
A report previously found 119 failings in the teenagers' care.
Speaking to councillors in Darlington, Murphy said: "We recognise the importance of the public inquiry for the families.
"It is with absolute openness and transparency that we say that."
'Let down'
It is understood that it could take up to three years to report back, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
"It is absolutely right and proper that the Secretary of State, Wes Streeting, has made this decision and worked with the families on that," Murphy said.
Councillor Matthew Roche, cabinet member for health and housing, said he hoped the inquiry "will bring some sense of closure or comfort to the families in the long term, although it will be a difficult process for them".
Speaking after announcing the inquiry, Streeting said it was happening because of the "remarkable" families.
"They've turned unimaginable grief into a campaign for action and I am only sorry that it has taken so long to come back with a decision," the health secretary said.
"For too long, patients and families in this region have been let down by failures at the trust - too many lives lost, too many families left without answers."
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