Trust publishes its learning from deaths policy

The Trust is enhancing the way we improve care to service users and their relatives and carers by today publishing its Learning from Deaths policy.

This document is the culmination of several months of work undertaken by nine mental health and learning disability Trusts across the North of England, supported by the team from Mazars who undertook the review of care in Southern Health.

The policy describes how the Trust will approach the review of deaths of service users, and how learning will be used to improve the health of service users who, as a group, die between 15-20 years earlier than the general population. It sets out how the Trust will also support bereaved relatives and carers.

Reviewing and learning from deaths is an integral part of the other  work the Trust has been undertaking over the last few years to ensure that the physical health of service users is treated as equally important as their mental health care and ensure that they are offered the same opportunities to prevent and treat physical ill health as the rest of the population in England

Damian RobinsonGroup Medical Director, Safer Care