THE news that there are no immediate plans to reopen Slade House may bring some relief to those wanting answers.

Relatives of 18-year-old Connor Sparrowhawk, who died while taking a bath in the Headington home, have been campaigning tirelessly to get justice and to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

And in July the Government’s care minister spoke of the “scandalous” case and said there had to be a proper and effective response to stop repeats of this sort of thing ever happening again.

Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Slade House, yesterday said it did not intend to reopen either units at Slade House.

While it’s good to see some action, it remains to be seen whether or not the family will get the answers they deserve.

How was their son, who was supposed to be cared for and looked after, able to die while having a bath?

It’s not the first time Southern Health has come under the spotlight for its failings, which is very alarming considering it runs several homes across the south of England including others in Oxfordshire.

These are some of our most vulnerable people and their loved ones need to know they are being looked after to the highest of standards. More has to be done to uncover the reasons behind the repeated failures in order to ensure they don’t happen again.