West Lane Hospital: Government apologises after teenager deaths

The authorities has apologised aft an probe recovered 3 teenage girls died aft "multifaceted and systemic" failures successful NHS intelligence wellness care.

Christie Harnett, 17, Nadia Sharif, 17 and Emily Moore, 18, had analyzable intelligence wellness needs and were patients astatine West Lane Hospital successful Middlesbrough.

Health curate Maria Caulfield told MPs the probe findings made "for achy reading".

Ms Caufield said: "The decease of immoderate young idiosyncratic is simply a tragedy, and each the much truthful erstwhile that young idiosyncratic should person been receiving attraction and support.

"I privation to apologise for the failings successful the attraction that they received."

After the 3 reports were released connected Wednesday the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV) admitted the infirmary had "unacceptable failings" and apologised unreservedly.

The wellness curate did not not regularisation retired a nationalist enquiry but said 1 would person to beryllium "on a nationalist ground and not conscionable connected an idiosyncratic spot basis".

She said a determination would beryllium made "in the coming days".

Ms Caufield said: "As we've seen successful maternity precise often erstwhile we repetition these inquiries they nutrient the aforesaid accusation and we request to larn systemically astir however to trim these failings."

She said nationalist inquiries often took galore years and "we've intelligibly got immoderate cases present which request immoderate urgent reappraisal and immoderate urgent action".

NHS England had commissioned a system-wide investigation, she added.

West Lane Hospital, which closed successful 2019 pursuing the deaths, provided specializer kid and teen intelligence wellness services, including attraction for eating disorders.

The young women, who had been friends, died wrong 8 months of each other.

An enquiry into however they had been cared for recovered 120 failures successful "care and work delivery" crossed a fig of agencies.

Miss Harnett, from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, took her ain beingness astatine West Lane Hospital successful June 2019 and Miss Sharif, from Middlesbrough, died determination 2 months later.

Miss Moore took her ain beingness successful February 2020 astatine Lanchester Road Hospital. She had antecedently been treated astatine West Lane successful 2018 and 2019.