If the state has deprived someone of their liberty and they then die under detention, their death must be reported to a coroner
09 Aug 2016
Diane Abbott MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Health, responding to new research that suggests that hundreds of patients who died while being detained under the Mental Health Act could have been denied inquests, said: “These figures are shocking. If the state has deprived someone of their liberty and they then die under detention, their death must be reported to a coroner. If you are not learning about what is causing the deaths, you are limiting the ability to learn for the future.“What is more alarming is that if this data is accurate, only a minority of deaths in state detention have been investigated by a coroner. These are deaths of people who are owed a duty of care by the state.
“It is outrageous that the Department of Health will not rule out that that some families have been deprived
of an investigation. They deserve answers. The government must respond urgently to these claims and I will be following developments closely.”
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