Bethany Tenquist

Dear Ms Hamilton-Deeley The late Bethany Tenquist Thank you for your letter dated 21 March 2019 which received after sending you my letter of 22 March 2019_ will write to you separately to formally respond to the Regulation 28 Report but hope that the content of my letter of 22 March provided you with some immediate reassurance regarding the concerns that you have about Caburn Ward_ In the meantime wanted to respond to the two points that you raised in your letter regarding communication with the Police. As | said in my letter of 22 March_neither nor anyone else here at the Trust was aware of the negative experience that reported to you: was surprised when first heard of his experience as it was at odds with the excellent working relationship Id understood we had with the Police_ Therefore , in addition to immediately asking for the matter totbelooked and personally contacting and our Police Liaison Officer; have also, today, spoken with the Chief Constable_ He has assured me that he has also understood the relationship between our respective services to be strong and without issue_ Whilst reassuring; !, of course, recognise and accept that experience wasn't the positive one we would all want It is however out of context and at odds with the excellent working relationship we have between our respective organisations_ Qur Deputy Chief Nurse, is now overseeing the provision of information to and conirm ihat she is already in email communication with him to ensure that he is accommodated in every way appropriate_ am pleased to say that have received confirmation from that the Police investigation is now back on track and the Chief Constable have both assured me thatl was not suggesting that there was anything deliberate or obstructive in him not being able to access the information earlier Our review confirms this too. However, it is clear that there are some lessons that can be learnt regarding Chair: Peter Molyneux Chief Executive: Samantha Allen Head office: Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust; Swandean, Arundel Road, Worthing; West Sussex, BN13 3EP W sussexpannership nhsuk teaching trust of Brighton and Sussex Medical School very jnto, today

communication pathways_ The Chief Constable and have discussed this and agreed it is timely that we will work to improve these pathways to enable the Police investigation teams to know who to contact for information and vice versa: Whilst this is an isolated event and not one we have previously experienced am confident that our learning from this will reduce confusion and assist both services_ Regarding the ward's communication with the Police on the night of Bethany's hanging, it was disappointing to hear that this did not happen; particularly , given the Trust's established working relationship with Sussex Police wholly appreciate that by not informing them they did not have the opportunity to immediately secure evidence Where an unexpected death occurs, The Trust's policy is clear that staff need to ensure that Police are called. However, our review of this issue has found that the guidance given to staff;, where patient survives but the prognosis is poor; lacks clarity. Sometimes, as was the case on March, the ambulance service makes that contact with the Police, but if that does not happen then our expectation is that the ward staff make the call. We have never had any other case where Police have not been alerted following a serious incident but; because it did not happen in Bethany's case , our guidance to staff is now in the process of being improved upon and confirm that it will be circulated to all inpatient units so that all ward staff are wholly clear of their responsibilities. hope that the content of this letter provides further assurance but if | can clarify anything further for you please do not hesitate to contact me_ also look forward to having the opportunity to meet with you at some soon: