Prime Minister backs Sussex bereaved families' calls for their voices to be heard
"It is really important that their questions are answered and that they see the change that they want coming about."
The Prime Minister is backing calls for bereaved families in Sussex to have their voices heard when it comes to improving mental health care.
Keir Starmer said "it's really important that their questions are answered" during a visit to Brighton yesterday.
It's after the SPFT Bereaved Families Unite Group shared that they felt the findings of their loved ones inquests weren't being taken into account by Trust bosses.
Starmer: "It's too important for it to be made difficult for them"
Starmer said all the cases "are really distressing":
"It's really hard to imagine the pain that those parents will have been through.
"It is really important that their questions are answered and that they see the change that they want coming about.
"They can do that either through the trust, they can get in touch with the Health Secretary.
"Frankly, they can get in touch with me if they want.
"It's too important for it to be made difficult for them."
The group recently penned a letter calling for MPs in Sussex to support them in working with the Trust to make sure their experiences used to shape future policy.
The letter, initially addressed to Horsham's John Milne, was penned by Louise Hodgson, whose daughter-in-law Morgan took her own life in NHS care.
The 19-year-old's inquest concluded last January - but " our family have had no engagement as yet", Louise explained.
"We have tried to engage on social media and that has been rebuffed," she added.
A spokesperson from Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said: "Working with carers and families matters to us.
"This includes listening to people and making them feel heard. There are times we do this well, but there is more we need to do.
"We are making progress.
"We have been awarded two out of three stars by the Carers Trust for our work on the Triangle of Care.
"This is about making sure professionals, families and carers work together as equal partners in someone’s mental health care.
"We are also introducing Open Dialogue, an approach that brings together the person in crisis, their family and the clinical team to make decisions collaboratively.
"We are committed to building further on these positive developments."