#MATTHEWSCAMPAIGN
STATEMENT AMID UNDERSTANDABLE CALLS FOR A NATIONAL PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

To whom it may concern.

Melanie Leahy has personally campaigned for a Statutory Public Inquiry into
Essex MH (both Inpatient and community - including the crossover with SEND
provision for children and adults) this past ten years and has learned a great
deal during this time.

It is our belief that a national inquiry will take many years to complete and will
also be prohibitive in terms of costs. It is contended very pragmatically that
most of us are fully aware of the nature of the issues and that they do not
differ between one area and another. They stem from government and the
cultures which grow in every corner of the UK.

We genuinely do not believe that there is anything more that could be learned
by a national inquiry, and it is likely to provide the government with an
argument to restrict this process or call for a "rapid review" which would be
dangerous and incomplete.

Essex is the venue which we would fully submit, is the most representative
and ready, to quickly evaluate using statutory powers to adduce evidence and
compel all witnesses to attend in order to finally openly expose what has been
happening over the entire UK and has resulted in a huge number of
preventable and tragic deaths.

Essex has an estimated population of 1.5 million people and sits just outside
London. There is already an independent inquiry into inpatient services
underway and some work has already been done. The chair of the present
inquiry has said that we are looking at a total of 1500+ deaths and that there is
already great concern.

A huge group of bereaved families have joined together to share information
with a premier law firm who have committed to supporting this call for a
statutory public inquiry. We have seen many deaths and many inquests over
the years and what is now becoming clear is that there is a growing chain of
cases where vital evidence has been suppressed. We have been able to
uncover clear issues where deaths which could have been dismissed as
"unexpected" are actually being said to be foreseeable.

We have a track record of uncovering health and safety breaches which have
cost lives and we have brought these to the attention of the Health & Safety
Executive.

We are at the point where the processes needed to clarify everything are not
far from completion.

Daily we hear of needless deaths across the UK, mirroring those seen in Essex
and confirming what we already know.

Essex provides us an efficient, thorough and financially logistically acceptable
area to focus on in order to achieve everything that a national inquiry could.

Essex is very ready.

The longstanding campaign involving hundreds of bereaved families who have
worked tirelessly, have requested that Essex MPs meet with their
representatives and legal team, together with the Inquest Group, in the House
of Commons as a matter of urgency.

Bereaved Essex families completely understand why families in other areas
want answers. They know with certainty that with an Essex Statutory Public
Inquiry they will be able to provide those answers far quicker, be fully
informative and most of all, it will offer the greatest conceivable chance to
save lives at risk.

We ask for your support in moving forward. We ask for it on behalf of those
who have little time for us to act before they stand to lose those they love.
Please stand with us in our call for Statutory powers to be added to the
current toothless inquiry our government has commissioned into Essex
Mental Health services.