Prevention of Future Deaths reports

Joan Hoggett

Regulation 28 report to prevent future deaths, reference 2022-0141. A coroner writes one of these when an inquest reveals a risk that could cause further deaths unless something changes.

Reference2022-0141
DeceasedJoan Hoggett
CoronerDerek Winter
Coroner areaCity of Sunderland
CategoryHospital Death (Clinical Procedures and medical management) related deaths · Mental Health related deaths · Other related deaths
Sourcejudiciary.uk record · original PDF
Responses published2

The report

Text extracted from the PDF text layer. Reproduced verbatim, including the scan's own layout.

Derek Winter DL 
Senior Coroner for the City of Sunderland 

REGULATION 28 REPORT TO PREVENT FUTURE DEATHS 

THIS REPORT IS BEING SENT TO: 

Chief Executive of Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust 

1 

CORONER 

I am Derek Winter DL, Senior Coroner for the City of Sunderland 

2 

CORONER’S LEGAL POWERS 

I make this report under paragraph 7, Schedule 5, of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 
and regulations 28 and 29 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013. 
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/25/schedule/5/paragraph/7 
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/1629/part/7/made 

3 

INVESTIGATION and INQUEST 

On 11th September 2018 I commenced an Investigation into the death of Joan Hoggett, 
who was born on 7th March 1956 and who died in Sunderland Royal Hospital on 5th 
September 2018 aged 62 years. The Investigation concluded at the end of a 4-day 
Inquest on 6th May 2022. The conclusion of the Inquest was ‘Unlawfully killed’, the 
medical cause of death being: - 
1a Stab wounds to the torso 

4 

CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE DEATH 

Joan Hoggett died at Sunderland Royal Hospital on 5th September 2018 after she was 
attacked at her place of work and was stabbed multiple times. After the conclusion of the 
Crown Court proceedings, I resumed the Inquest, as there was sufficient reason to do so, as 
the perpetrator had been involved with Mental Health Services. 

5 

CORONER’S CONCERNS 

I acknowledge the actions of the Trust following a number of reviews and, no doubt, 
they will review the evidence from the Inquest. However, during the course of the 
Inquest the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern. In my opinion there is a 
risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken. In the circumstances it is my 
statutory duty to report to you. 

The MATTERS OF CONCERN are, as follows: – 

1. The family of the perpetrator were not as engaged by the Trust as much as they could

have been in terms of:

Office of HM Coroner for the City of Sunderland, City Hall, Plater Way, Sunderland, SR1 3AA 
Tel 0191 5617843    |    Fax 0191 5537803 
www.sunderlandcoroner.co.uk 

 ⁃  sharing information with them; and 
⁃  acting upon information provided by them. 
I acknowledge that this must take into account the Service User’s capacity and 
consent and also respecting confidentiality, but in this case these matters did not 
seem to be an issue. 

2.  A more proactive approach may have been appropriate. 

I am concerned that the opportunities to engage more were not taken. 

6 

ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN 

In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you have the 
power to take such action. 

7 

YOUR RESPONSE 

You are under a duty to respond to this report within 56 days of the date of this report, 
namely by 7th July 2022. I, the Coroner, may extend the period. 

Your response must contain details of action taken or proposed to be taken, setting out 
the timetable for action. Otherwise you must explain why no action is proposed. 

8 

COPIES and PUBLICATION 

I have sent a copy of my report to the Chief Coroner and to the following Interested 
Persons: - 
•  Family and their Solicitors and Counsel 
•  Secretary of State for Health and Social Care 
•  Care Quality Commission (CQC) 

I am also under a duty to send the Chief Coroner a copy of your response. 

The Chief Coroner may publish either or both in a complete or redacted or summary 
form. He may send a copy of this report to any person who he believes may find it useful 
or of interest. You may make representations to me, the coroner, at the time of your 
response, about the release or the publication of your response by the Chief Coroner. 

9 

Dated this 12th day of May 2022 

Signature
Senior Coroner for the City of Sunderland 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Derek Winter DL 
Senior Coroner for the City of Sunderland 

REGULATION 28 REPORT TO PREVENT FUTURE DEATHS 

THIS REPORT IS BEING SENT TO: 

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care 

1 

CORONER 

I am Derek Winter DL, Senior Coroner for the City of Sunderland 

2 

CORONER’S LEGAL POWERS 

I make this report under paragraph 7, Schedule 5, of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 
and regulations 28 and 29 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013. 
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/25/schedule/5/paragraph/7 
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/1629/part/7/made 

3 

INVESTIGATION and INQUEST 

On 11th September 2018 I commenced an Investigation into the death of Joan Hoggett, 
who was born on 7th March 1956 and who died in Sunderland Royal Hospital on 5th 
September 2018 aged 62 years. The Investigation concluded at the end of a 4-day 
Inquest on 6th May 2022. The conclusion of the Inquest was ‘Unlawfully killed’, the 
medical cause of death being: - 
1a Stab wounds to the torso 

4 

CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE DEATH 

Joan Hoggett died at Sunderland Royal Hospital on 5th September 2018 after she was 
attacked at her place of work and was stabbed multiple times. After the conclusion of the 
Crown Court proceedings, I resumed the Inquest, as there was sufficient reason to do so, as 
the perpetrator had been involved with Mental Health Services. 

5 

CORONER’S CONCERNS 

I acknowledge the actions of the Trust following a number of reviews and, no doubt, 
they will review the evidence from the Inquest. However, during the course of the 
Inquest the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern. In my opinion there is a 
risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken. In the circumstances it is my 
statutory duty to report to you. 

The MATTERS OF CONCERN are, as follows: – 

Engagement with the perpetrator was influenced to some extent by the capacity of the 
Mental Health Trust and its personnel to meet the competing demands of the Service 

Office of HM Coroner for the City of Sunderland, City Hall, Plater Way, Sunderland, SR1 3AA 
Tel 0191 5617843    |    Fax 0191 5537803 
www.sunderlandcoroner.co.uk 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 with the resources at their disposal. This was more challenging at times of staff absence 
and the ability of the Trust to sufficiently cover the work needed with the perpetrator and 
others. 

6 

ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN 

In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you have the 
power to take such action. 

7 

YOUR RESPONSE 

You are under a duty to respond to this report within 56 days of the date of this report, 
namely by 7th July 2022. I, the Coroner, may extend the period. 

Your response must contain details of action taken or proposed to be taken, setting out 
the timetable for action. Otherwise you must explain why no action is proposed. 

8 

COPIES and PUBLICATION 

I have sent a copy of my report to the Chief Coroner and to the following Interested 
Persons: - 
•  Family and their Solicitors and Counsel 
•  Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust and their 

Solicitors and Counsel 

•  Care Quality Commission (CQC) 

I am also under a duty to send the Chief Coroner a copy of your response. 

The Chief Coroner may publish either or both in a complete or redacted or summary 
form. He may send a copy of this report to any person who he believes may find it useful 
or of interest. You may make representations to me, the coroner, at the time of your 
response, about the release or the publication of your response by the Chief Coroner. 

9 

Dated this 12th day of May 2022 

Signature
Senior Coroner for the City of Sunderland

Responses

2 responses published against this report on judiciary.uk. A response is a body's written reply to the coroner's concerns; publication is at the discretion of the Chief Coroner's office, so an absent response does not mean nobody replied.

Response from Cntw NHS (PDF)
Executive Suite 
St Nicholas Hospital 
Jubilee Road 
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE 
NE3 4RT 

Tel: 

EA: 

6th July 2022 

HM Senior Coroner Derek Winter 
The Coroner’s Office 
City Hall  
Plater Way 
Sunderland  
SR1 3AA 

Dear Sir 

Inquest into the death of Joan Hoggett 

This letter is written in response to the Regulation 28 Report, which you directed to the Trust following the inquest 
into the death of Mrs Joan Hoggett. As you are aware, the Trust has taken Mrs Hoggett’s death very seriously, as 
would be expected in such circumstances, and it has been investigated both internally by the Trust and externally 
by NHS England (via Niche) to establish where lessons can be learned and/or services improved. An independent 
peer review of the Early Intervention in Psychosis Service South Locality was also carried out by Professor 

. A significant amount of work has been carried out by the Trust in response to concerns highlighted by each 
of these investigations. The details of the actions implemented and embedded by the Trust following this incident 
and receipt of the relevant reports were discussed at length during the inquest process and we do not  intend to 
repeat the detail in this response save for where it is relevant to the specific concerns raised in the Regulation 28 
Report.  

For the purpose of responding to your specific concerns raised in the Regulation 28 Report, I have addressed them 
as  one  entity  as  they  both  relate  to  involving  family  members  in  the  care  of  the  perpetrator  in  this  matter.  Your 
concerns were as follows: 

“The family of the perpetrator were not as engaged by the Trust as much as they could have been in terms 
of:  

a. Sharing information with them; and
b. Acting upon information provided by them.

A more proactive approach may have been appropriate. ” 

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 Trust Response  

As you will be aware, one of the recommendations made by Niche in the Independent Investigation Report was as 
follows:  

“The EIP Service should review within three months, how to ensure that a carers’ needs assessment is 
offered and facilitated and include an audit of the ‘Getting to Know You’ documentation.” 

By way of background, the ‘Getting to know you’ (‘GTKY’) process is designed to support staff to get to know the 
whole family of the person being cared for. By applying a ‘Think Family’ approach our staff aim to gain a  better 
understanding of the patient’s background and family circumstances as well as identifying more quickly the patient’s 
main carer(s). Within a few days of coming into contact with Trust services, a member of staff is expected to arrange 
to spend some time with the carer/family member, to get to know them. The GTKY process was reviewed in 2018 
in collaboration with carers. The outcome of the review led to the design of improved information leaflets and a new 
carer specific folder within the Electronic Care Record which will capture the needs of carers and record a plan on 
who best to support their needs. 

Since  the  above  recommendation  was  made,  the  Trust  has  completed  a  number  of  caseload  reviews  to  seek 
assurance  that  the  GTKY  process  has  been  fully  embedded  into  clinical  practice  and  that  carers  are  being 
signposted and referred for carers’ assessments as appropriate. This ensures that staff are proactively engaging 
with  family  members/carers  in  the  provision  of  a  service  user’s  care.  The  findings  and  actions  following  these 
caseload reviews  have been shared across the  EIP  Team, Central  Business Unit and  locality meetings via the 
Trust-wide EIP steering group.  

This issue is also now routinely discussed with staff as part of clinical supervision each month and compliance is 
monitored during the monthly random audit of casefiles, the results of which are showing good compliance. The 
EIP service has also developed a documentation checklist for staff to refer to as a guide to ensure that the GTKY 
documentation is accurate and central to a service user’s care, within the parameters of consent and confidentiality.  

The  Trust  has  also  had  the  following  feedback  regarding  family  interventions  in  the  EIP  service  following  the 
, 13 November 2019 as follows:  
Independent Peer Review of EIP Service South Locality by Professor 

“I  was  impressed  with  the  delivery  of  Family  Interventions  within  the  team.  Often  this  is  seen  as  a  discreet 
intervention that is considered as and when the team feels it may be helpful, however, the model applied within the 
team is that family support is an integral part of the core offer. All families are offered an assessment with a qualified 
family therapist who will assess and formulate their individual needs and then an appropriate family intervention 
will be delivered. This offer incorporates the types of family intervention associated with reducing relapse rates for 
people with psychosis and  schizophrenia although this aspect may be delivered by care coordinators within the 
team.” 

The Trust is planning further improvement work in 2022/23 through their delivery of Quality Priority 3: Patient 
Care,  which  will  increase  the  time  staff  are  able  to  spend  with  service  users  and  carers.  This  will  include 
engagement with stakeholders and reviews to measure the use of the Getting to Know You documentation. 
This  work  has  been  delayed  due  to  the  Covid19  pandemic  however,  as  acknowledged  in  the  final  Niche 
investigation report (published on 29 June 2022), this issue as a whole has been significantly progressed. 

All of the above actively encourages proactive engagement with family members of service users at an early 
stage  to  ensure  that  the  channels  of  communication  are  open  to  allow  family  members/carers  to  share 
information with the Trust and vice versa and to use that information in a meaningful way.  

As stated above, the Trust are continuing to monitor compliance in this area via regular audit and are planning 
further improvement works which will enhance and further embed the processes which are already in place. 

I hope that the information provided offers you the assurance that the Trust have invested significant time, effort and 
resource into investigating this incident and looked again at the findings of the inquest and the final independent 
report of Niche with a view to improving patient care and safety.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Yours sincerely 

Chief Executive
Response from Department of Health and Social Care (PDF)
Our Ref: PFD – 1405133 

HM Senior Coroner Derek Winter 
The Coroner’s Office 
City Hall  
Plater Way 
Sunderland  
SR1 3AA 

Dear Mr Winter,   

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State 
Department of Health and Social Care 

39 Victoria Street 
London 
SW1H 0EU 

25 November 2022 

Thank you for your letter of 12 May 2022 to the then Secretary of State for Health and Social Care 
Sajid Javid, about the death of Joan Hoggett.  I am replying as Minister with responsibility for Mental 
Health, and thank you for the additional time allowed. 

Firstly, I would like to say how saddened I was to read of the circumstances of Ms Hoggett’s death, 
and I offer my sincere condolences to her family and loved ones.  The circumstances your report 
describes are very concerning and I am grateful to you for bringing these matters to my attention.  

In preparing this response, departmental officials have made enquiries with NHS England, as well 
as the relevant regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC). 

I understand that the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Foundation Trust has responded 
directly to you with a series of actions they will undertake to ensure that something like this will not 
happen again.  You may wish to know that CQC continues to meet with the Trust bi-monthly and 
receive regular updates on staffing and any other concerns through these meetings. 

You raised concerns about the capacity of the Mental Health Trust, and its workforce, to engage with 
the  perpetrator  and  to  meet  the  competing  demands  of  the  service  within  the  resources  at  its 
disposal.    Responsibility  for  the  staffing and  operations  of  a  hospital  lies  with  the  relevant  Trust.  
However,  the  Department  does  recognise  the  need  to  increase  capacity  in  NHS  mental  health 
services due to the increasing demand for services.  

You may wish to know that the mental health workforce increased by 5,900 full-time equivalent staff 
in December 2021 compared to December 2020, and by over 11,800 compared to December 2010.  
We know there is more to do to ensure we have sufficient numbers of healthcare staff to deliver our 
aims for high quality, accessible mental health services.  Our aim, as set out in the Mental Health 
Implementation Plan, is to expand the mental health workforce by an additional 27,000 healthcare 
professionals by 2023/24 (compared to 2019/20).  

To enable this increase in workforce, through the NHS Long Term Plan, we are investing at least 
£2.3 billion additional funding a year from 2019/20 to expand and transform mental health services 
in England by 2023/24.  This will enable an extra two million people to be treated by NHS mental 
health services by 2023/24.  This includes new integrated community models for adults with severe 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 mental illness, so that at least 370,000 adults have greater choice and control over their care and 
are supported to live well in their communities by 2023/24.  This additional capacity will help NHS 
mental health services to deliver safe care and be more able to adhere to operational processes.  

We are making good progress with investment in NHS mental health services continuing to increase 
each year from almost £11 billion in 2015/16 to £15 billion in 2021/22. 

I hope this response is helpful. Thank you for bringing these concerns to my attention.  

Kind regards, 

                                                MARIA CAULFIELD MP

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