Calls to expand the powers of an inquiry into patient deaths in mental health services have been backed by the MP for South Suffolk, to help 'finally bring some daylight to the darkness'.
Dr Geraldine Strathdee, chairman of the Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry, urged the Government this week to grant statutory powers to her investigation into the deaths of more than 1,500 people in the care of mental health units in Essex over 20 years.
The inquiry began in early 2021, following extensive campaigning from families, including Great Cornard couple Robert and Linda Wade, whose son Robert, 30, took his own life just hours after being admitted to the Linden Centre.
However, progress has been hindered, Dr Strathdee stated in a letter to health ministers, because insufficient witnesses have come forward, highlighting the need for full legal powers to compel them to give evidence.
South Suffolk MP James Cartlidge, who raised the original parliamentary debate in 2020 which preceded the inquiry's launch, welcomed calls to elevate the status of the investigation.
"To this day, the case of Richard Wade from Great Cornard remains a shocking one," said Mr Cartlidge, the recently appointed Minister of State for Defence. "It is equally shocking to think there appears to be numerous other cases that are not dissimilar.
"Given the need for something to be done, when ministers suggested an independent inquiry in response to my adjournment debate in October 2020, I felt that this was the right way forward.
"Whereas, whilst there were many good reasons to push for a statutory inquiry, my concern was simply that this would have delayed matters for many more months.
"However, we must all be prepared to recognise what is happening in reality and the lack of openness means there seems little alternative now but to move this investigation to the next level.
"I therefore join those in calling for this to become a statutory inquiry, in the hope of finally bring some daylight to the darkness that has enveloped these many tragic cases."