Grieving family 'devastated' as inquiry snubs son's case

Family: He was treated with malice’ by mental health staff

- REBECCA THOMAS

The parents who lost their son after mental health staff treated him with “malice” say they are devastated after they were snubbed by a public inquiry examining more than 2,000 deaths.

Darian Bankwala died in December 2020, four months after being discharged from mental health services run by Essex University Partnership Foundation Trust (EPUT). He is one of more than 2,000 mental health patients who have died unexpectedly while under the care of mental health services in Essex since January 2000.

Yesterday a landmark public inquiry opened to investigate failures connected to the deaths. Chaired by Baroness Kate Lampard, the Lampard Inquiry will cover two decades and will look at patients who died in hospital and those who died within three months of their discharge from hospital.

However, Mr Bankwala’s family has been told by the inquiry they cannot be a core participant as he died four months after discharge, not three like the other cases being looked at. Mr Bankwala’s father Kobad said his family was “devasted” by the news after fighting for years for answers following his son’s death.

“When we heard about [the statutory public inquiry], after the fighting and fighting and fighting, we were happy,” he told The Independent. “We thought at last, there’s going to be something happening, but then [now] it’s turned sour again… my family are devastated at the moment, I’m still going to fight this my way… What you see [has] just come out of the Post Office scandal, that is exactly what’s been happening within EPUT and the mental health service.”