"He went into hospital with earache and came out dead" - Essex woman gives evidence to Lampard Inquiry
Melanie Leahy has lost her son and partner
An Essex woman has called for "accountability and real reform" at the Lampard Inquiry, an investigation into mental health deaths in the county.
Melanie Leahy's son and partner have both lost their lives following care at hospitals and mental health units.
She said that "families should never again have to fight for the truth after losing someone in state care. We demand transparency, accountability, and an end to the culture of denial that protects institutions instead of people.”
Melanie Leahy is the founder of #MatthewsCampaign, and her campaigning led to the creation of the inquiry.
Her son Matthew died in the Linden Centre in Chelmsford in 2012. She has called his death "preventable", and it led to her fight to find out what happened.
At the Lampard Inquiry hearings, she gave evidence about her partner's death.
She said that “Colin was loved, respected, and full of life. He deserved care and compassion — not suffering and silence. I will not stop until there is accountability and real reform.”
Colin was admitted to hospital in May 2021, at the age of 81, with an ear infection, low heart rate and mild fatigue.
She says that the care that followed was a "systemic failure" and that she was "shut out".
She argues that there was an excessive use of medication and drugs involved in his care.
"Colin's death proves that lessons were never learned. Vulnerable people continue to be drugged, restrained, and left to die while families are treated as the enemy."
In a response, Paul Scott, CEO of Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, said: “My thoughts are with Colin’s family and loved ones and I send my condolences both personally and on behalf of the Trust.
“As the Inquiry progresses there will be many accounts of people who were much loved and missed over the past 24 years and I want to say how sorry I am for their loss.
“All of us across healthcare have a responsibility to work together to improve care and treatment for all and to build on the improvements that have already been made over the last 24 years.”
When speaking in the Inquiry's hearings, Melanie stated:
"After 13 years of campaigning for truth and accountability following the death of my son, I appear here today before the Lampard Inquiry into the death of my partner Colin Flatt.
"This inquiry exists because I refused to give up.
"When I begged for answers I was met with silence, with lies, and doors slammed in my face.
"At first it was just me, a mother demanding truth. But over time, others stood beside me: families, campaigners, journalists, solicitors, charities, patients, staff, and eventually politicians.
"I now fight for them both. For Matthew, for Colin, and every life lost or broken by neglect or indifference.
"The journey has taken everything, but I will not stop. Because truth matters."