Independent reviews of mental health homicides: systematic assessment of 'legacy' cases
Verita has pioneered the use of a systematic assessment tool to determine the most suitable scale and type of independent review for cases of mental health homicide. The assessment tool uses criteria developed jointly with Capsticks to categorise the cases into three broad types depending on their complexity and the thoroughness of the internal investigations:
- Type A - a wide-ranging investigation carried out by a team examining a single case
- Type B - a narrowly-focused investigation carried out by a team examining a single case or a group of themed cases
- Type C - a single investigator (with peer reviewer) examining a single case or a group of themed cases.
Using the assessment tool, Verita has helped strategic health authorities come up with a thorough yet proportionate plan to review their ‘legacy' cases (cases of mental health homicide inherited from predecessor organisations that have been subject to an internal investigation but not an independent one as stipulated under the terms of Health Service Guidelines (94)27).
Strategic health authorities that have commissioned Verita to assess their ‘legacy' cases and recommend the most appropriate type of independent investigation include NHS East of England and NHS London.