- A criminal investigation has been launched by the UK's healthcare watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), following the death of 17-year-old Lucy Curtis at an NHS mental health unit.
- Lucy Curtis died on New Year's Day 2024 after an incident at the Riverside Adolescent Unit at Blackberry Hill Hospital in Bristol, operated by Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (AWP).
- Weeks after Lucy's death, AWP temporarily closed the Riverside unit, citing that internal reviews could not assure a consistently safe level of care.
- The CQC's investigation could potentially lead to prosecution for failures to provide safe care resulting in avoidable harm, under the Health and Social Care Act.
- AWP has expressed condolences to Lucy's family, is cooperating with the investigation and a forthcoming inquest in June, and is committed to developing new specialist mental health services for young people in the Bristol area.
IN FULL
Criminal investigation launched into NHS mental health unit after teenage girl’s death
