Mental health trust faces CQC prosecution after teenager's death

A mental health trust is to be prosecuted over its failure to protect a girl who died in its care.

Christie Harnett, 17, took her own life at the former West Lane Hospital in Middlesbrough in June 2019.

Regulator Care Quality Commission (CQC) said the Tees, Esk and Wear Valley Trust "failed to provide safe care and treatment" which exposed the patient to "significant risk of avoidable harm".

The trust said it has "fully cooperated" with the investigation.

West Lane Hospital was closed down by inspectors in 2019 after the deaths of Miss Harnett and another patient, 17-year-old Nadia Sharif.

A third patient being treated by the trust, 18-year-old Emily Moore, died in February 2020 after taking her own life.

Their families launched a fresh appeal for a public inquiry in March.

The trust received a damning inspection report in 2019 which said patients were at high risk of "avoidable harm".

The unit was renamed Acklam Road Hospital when it reopened in May 2021, and is now run by Cumbria, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear NHS Trust.

Christie had been in care facilities for two years and had a number of mental health issues, which led her to self-harm and make multiple attempts to take her own life.

Her family welcomed the decision to prosecute, but described it as "a double-edged sword".

"It's amazing news knowing that the CQC actually think that the trust had failed and needs to be prosecuted," said her step-father Michael Harnett.

"But it makes it sink in even more just how bad it was and how badly the patients were treated that the CQC are prosecuting."

Christie's grandmother, Casey Tremain, added: "If they had done what they were supposed to, looked after and cared for her properly, then she would still be here.

"We wanted the truth to be uncovered but it all boils back to the fact that we were complaining for a long, long time.

"Christie is dead because we weren't heard, we weren't listened to.

"That's just the most painful thing and I don't think we will ever get past it."

The CQC, which regulates health and social care services in England, said it was bringing a prosecution for a breach of the Health and Social Care Act in that the trust "failed to provide safe care and treatment exposing a patient to a significant risk of avoidable harm".

It continued: "In these circumstances, CQC look at all the evidence to determine if it meets the threshold for CQC to prosecute the provider.

"In this case it was concluded that it did meet the threshold and a prosecution was necessary and in the public interest."

A Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said it had "fully cooperated" and continued to work closely with the CQC.

"We have made significant changes both in personnel and how we treat those in our care," they said.

"We promise Christie's family that we are working extremely hard to continue to improve as they have every right to expect."

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