TEWV said at the time that they would fully support the public inquiry.<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n Lawyers at Ison Harrison, which is instructed by around 130 individuals and families affected by the Trust, say the lack of progress risks leaving families stuck in limbo amid fresh allegations of avoidable harm.\n<\/p>\n
\n However, The Northern Echo understands the Department of Health and Social Care has appointed a Secretary to the Inquiry, and they will take up the role in June.\n<\/p>\n
\n ![]()
Families arriving at the Mercure in Darlington where they learnt a statutory public inquiry would be called in December (Image: SARAH CALDECOT)\n<\/p>\n
\n Campaigners say the human cost of the delay has been highlighted by further tragedies.\n<\/p>\n
\n Families say the latest deaths reinforce fears that patients remain at risk while the inquiry has yet to begin.\n<\/p>\n
\n For the families of Emily Moore, Christie Harnett and Nadia Sharif, whose deaths previously exposed what were described as “multifaceted and systemic” failings, the latest tragedy is a stark reminder the problems have not gone away.\n<\/p>\n
\n Alistair Smith, senior solicitor at Ison Harrison, said: \u201cThere was a clear sense of momentum at the end of last year.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Families were given a firm commitment that a statutory public inquiry would take place and that the Trust would be held to account for what can only be described as monumental failings, yet that optimism has been replaced by profound disappointment.\n<\/p>\n
\n ![]()
Wes Streeting meeting the families in Darlington where he called a public inquiry into TEWV (Image: SARAH CALDCOTT)\n<\/p>\n
\n “The preliminary stages should have been a straightforward step toward transparency, yet we are seeing the same pattern of delay that has characterised the Trust\u2019s history.\n<\/p>\n
\n “The Government promised these families the truth in a forum as robust as the Post Office inquiry, but you cannot find the truth without a chair to lead the search”.\n<\/p>\n
\n Michael Harnett, of the Rebuild Trust campaign group, said families felt their voices were no longer being heard.\n<\/p>\n
\n He said: \u201cStepping into the initial briefing in Middlesbrough felt like an emotional milestone, a sign that our voices were finally being heard.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Now it feels like the Government has gone silent. While they drag their heels on paperwork, the Trust is allowed to function as normal, despite proof that patients are still being failed.\n<\/p>\n
\n “We were told to hold the Secretary of State\u2019s feet to the fire, and that is exactly what we are doing, we cannot wait for another tragedy before this inquiry actually begins”.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ison Harrison is calling on the Health Secretary to appoint a public inquiry chair and begin formal proceedings immediately.\n<\/p>\n
\n The firm is also urging anyone affected to share their experiences through its dedicated online portal, while further information is available through the Rebuild Trust campaign website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bereaved relatives affected by years of failings at the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583469,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[102,2960,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-583468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583468\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}