Patients waited 72 hours for cameras to be turned off

Mental health patients who objected to cameras monitoring them in their bedrooms had to wait for a clinical team to decide whether they could be switched off, a public inquiry has heard.

The Oxevision system was automatically running when patients were admitted to certain wards run by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) and requests to turn it off could take up to 72 hours to consider.

EPUT acknowledged its approach to consent was wrong, introducing an opt-in policy in August 2026.

The Lampard Inquiry is examining the deaths of more than 2,000 people who were inpatients in mental health units in Essex in the 24 years to the end of 2023.

Zephan Trent, the trust's executive director of strategy, transformation and digital, said: "Consent to use of the Oxevision system should not have been implied at admission, and should have been explicit informed consent."

Requests to turn it off had to be assessed by a multidisciplinary team, the inquiry heard.

The company behind the infrared technology said it was used in about half of NHS mental health inpatient units.

Oxevision uses cameras in patients' bedrooms to capture images and measure pulse and breathing rates.

It does not record sound and staff monitor the system using tablets and computers.

LIO Health, the company behind the technology, said it was intended to support patient safety but must not replace checks in person or the presence of staff on wards.

However, the inquiry heard that NHS England had identified 57 incidents nationally in which staff used the system's 15-second video function instead of checking patients in person. The company said this was against its guidance.

The inquiry, sitting this week at the Civic Centre in Chelmsford, heard NHS England raised serious patient safety concerns about Oxevision with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in 2021.

This included issues with how the system was being used and claims about what it was capable of.

Dr Robert Read, the MHRA's deputy director for innovative devices, said the manufacturer had claimed Oxevision reduced self-harm.

But the clinical evidence requested by the regulator was not provided and the claim was removed.

The inquiry was also told false pulse readings were reported to the British Standards Institution in 2023.

Laura Cozens, head of patient safety at LIO Health, accepted further research was needed.

She said this should take place while Oxevision was being used, so patients did not miss out on its potential benefits.

EPUT said feedback from trialling the technology found 75% of patients thought it made them safer and 70% believed it improved their wellbeing.

The trust spent a net total of £4.3m on Oxevision between 2020 and 2025, including installation, software fees and training.

EPUT and LIO Health said the system had helped staff intervene during incidents and save lives.

NHS England said the responsibility of using this technology rested with individual trusts.

Families and other people, deemed "core participants", will make submissions on possible interim recommendations at a virtual hearing on Tuesday.

Baroness Lampard will then consider whether measures are needed to protect current patients.

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