THE MOTHER of an 18-year-old who died under the care of learning disability services in Oxfordshire has questioned the service’s openness.

Sara Ryan spoke out after a Care Quality Commission inspection found that staff and service users were “concerned” about how the Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust was handling Connor Sparrowhawk’s death. It did not detail what these concerns were.

Headington resident Dr Ryan said: “I’m not surprised because the way that the trust handled the situation with Connor was appalling.”

The report, published yesterday, stated: “This was clearly causing distress and affecting staff morale and unrest with people using services and their families.”

Connor drowned in a bath in July 2013 after suffering an epileptic fit at The Slade, a short-term assessment and treatment centre for people with learning disabilities. The unit he died in was closed to admissions in November 2013.

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But a recent inspection by the CQC found that Southern Health, which provides services for people with learning disabilities and autism in the county, required improvement in three of five areas.

Inspectors were told by stakeholders that “the trust did not have a well-developed safety culture and had previously not reported or investigated serious incidents”.

Dr Ryan added: “It’s two years on and these issues are still here, they don’t seem to be tackling the issue.

“(Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust is) too big to be effective.

“I don’t think Southern Health should be providing any services for people with disabilities.”

The CQC found 120 Oxfordshire patients had not been seen within the treatment target of 13 weeks, while 26 patients in the county had been waiting more than a year for referrals to other services such as psychology, occupational therapy and physiotherapy.

Heath Dunn, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust associate director of learning disabilities, said: “The services are improving and I won’t be satisfied until they are the best they can be.

“When something like (Connor’s death) happens, there is an element of personal compassion.

There are lessons we have learnt and things we will do differently.”

New training for Southern Health staff on how to deal with those who suffer from epilepsy has already been introduced.

An inquest review into Connor’s death will take place in October, while an independent review into deaths of people under the care of Southern Health, commissioned by NHS England, is due to be completed by the end of next month.