MOSCOW (Sputnik) – NHS England said a final "full independent report" would be published "as soon as possible." It requested the report in 2013 after Connor Sparrowhawk, 18, drowned in a Southern Health hospital in Oxford after an epileptic seizure.
The broadcaster said an independent investigation had concluded Sparrowhawk's death was preventable, while an inquest probe found neglect by the trust had contributed to his death.
"It’s a total scandal. It just sickens me," Sara Ryan, the mother of a young patient who died in one of the trust's hospitals, reacted to the report’s findings in an interview with the BBC broadcaster late Wednesday.
Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust is blamed for "failure of leadership" in improperly investigating 1,454 unexpected deaths of its mental health and learning disability patients. The trust provides services to 45,000 people across four southern UK regions.
The draft report, commissioned by NHS England and carried out by the Mazars audit firm, said investigations were either of poor quality and "extremely" late, if at all carried out.
In response, the trust said it had "serious concerns about the draft report’s interpretation of the evidence."
