PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(16 December 2025)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mechanisms are in place for NHS mental health trusts to be held accountable when written recommendations for improving carer involvement and crisis support following formal apologies are not implemented within agreed timescales.

Asked by:
Sir Julian Smith (Conservative)

Anyone receiving treatment for their mental health deserves safe, high-quality care, and to be treated with dignity and respect.

Families, staff, and the public deserve answers when things go wrong in mental health settings and it is vitally important that, where care falls short, we learn from any mistakes made to improve care across the National Health Service and protect patients in the future.

All NHS providers are held to account under the NHS Oversight Framework 2025/26 when they fail to implement written recommendations, for instance on carer involvement or crisis support, in agreed timescales. This includes a capability assessment, where trusts are evaluated for leadership, governance, and ability to implement change, with failures heightening oversight. As part of the Provider Improvement Programme, low performing trusts enter a structured programme, gaining intensive, formal improvement interventions.

NHS England can formally step in using its enforcement guidance if performance or governance is below acceptable standards. NHS England regional teams convene regular meetings with trusts and integrated care boards to review progress on agreed recommendations and implementation plans.

It is the role of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to carry out independent investigations into complaints about treatment or service provided through the NHS where organisation level complaints processes have already been followed.

Answered by:
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