Judge appointed to lead inquiry into North East mental health failings

A public inquiry into serious failings at one of England’s largest mental health trusts will formally begin on 21 September.

His Honour Judge Roderick John Conwy Potter has been appointed to chair the investigation into care provided by Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust.

The inquiry will examine what happened across the trust’s mental health services, why serious failings occurred and what changes are required to ensure patients receive safe and appropriate care. Survivors and bereaved families will be given an opportunity to provide evidence and help shape its work.

The government announced the inquiry in December 2025 following sustained campaigning by families whose relatives died while receiving care from the trust. It is expected to consider patient deaths over the past decade, including cases involving suicide.

Among those known to have died were 17-year-olds Nadia Sharif and Christie Harnett, who died while patients at West Lane Hospital in Middlesbrough in 2019, and 18-year-old Emily Moore, who died in February 2020 after receiving care at Lanchester Road Hospital in County Durham.

Judge Potter is a retired circuit judge and former deputy judge of the Court of Appeal’s Criminal Division. He has more than 40 years of experience in public service, judicial leadership and the administration of justice.

He said his first priority would be meeting and listening to patients, families and others affected by the issues being investigated. Their experiences will inform the inquiry’s formal terms of reference.

Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper said affected families had suffered “immeasurable pain” and that Judge Potter had been asked to produce a comprehensive account of how and why care went so badly wrong.

The trust has previously apologised to those affected and pledged to cooperate fully with the inquiry.

For families who have spent years seeking answers, the opening of a formal public inquiry represents an important step. Its success, however, will depend upon whether it can establish accountability, identify failures across the wider system and produce changes that are implemented rather than simply acknowledged.

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