{"id":942,"date":"2026-07-27T22:27:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T22:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/evidence-lacking-for-mental-health-monitoring-tech\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T22:27:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T22:27:08","slug":"evidence-lacking-for-mental-health-monitoring-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/evidence-lacking-for-mental-health-monitoring-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Evidence lacking’ for mental health monitoring tech"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"'Evidence<\/figure>\n
\"'Evidence<\/figure>\n
\"'Evidence<\/figure>\n
\"'Evidence<\/figure>\n
\"'Evidence<\/figure>\n
\"'Evidence<\/figure>\n

The Lampard Inquiry has heard that there is no ‘strong independent evidence’ that a widely used monitoring system in mental health wards has improved patient safety.<\/p>\n

The inquiry is examining the deaths of more than 2,000 mental health patients in Essex over 24 years. It had previously heard ‘grave concerns’ about the widespread use of Oxevision technology, which monitors patients in their rooms using infrared sensors and cameras.<\/p>\n

What is Oxevision?<\/h2>\n

Oxevision tracks patients’ pulse and breathing rates and is used by 40% of NHS mental health trusts. LIO Health, which runs the system, says technology has a vital role in supporting safer inpatient mental health care, an area without any medical device technology until Oxevision. The company says its impact has been ‘significant’, adding that in one trust alone, the technology helped staff respond to 1,453 safety incidents over four years.<\/p>\n

Expert Review of the Evidence<\/h2>\n

On Thursday, the inquiry heard from two experts from the University of Oxford who reviewed 45 studies used to justify introducing Oxevision across the NHS. The academics found that some studies involved employees of Oxevision or were not extensive enough. They concluded that the studies did ‘not provide strong independent evidence of improved patient safety, acceptability or cost effectiveness’.<\/p>\n

However, one expert acknowledged that conducting the ideal study in a mental health ward setting would be challenging. Fiona Scolding KC, speaking for Oxevision, questioned whether it was more difficult to introduce randomised controlled trials in mental health units.<\/p>\n

Reactions from Bereaved Families and Campaigners<\/h2>\n

Law firm Hodge Jones & Allen, representing more than 120 bereaved families at the inquiry, said the findings show there is no clear or meaningful evidence that Oxevision improves patient safety or care. Campaign group Stop Oxevision, which has been campaigning to halt its use in the NHS, said the findings raise concerns not only about this technology but more broadly. Spokesperson Hat Porter said a ‘lack of regulation means that a technology without any kind of robust independent evidence base can just be rolled out’ widely.<\/p>\n

What Experts Recommend<\/h3>\n

Prof Christl Donnelly and Dr Maria Christodoulou of Oxford University said ‘further independent, randomised, and adequately controlled research’ would be needed before stronger conclusions could be drawn about Oxevision.<\/p>\n

What Happens Next<\/h2>\n

The inquiry will resume in October, when its chair Baroness Lampard will decide whether to make interim recommendations. Hearings will continue until late 2027, with a final report expected in 2028. The Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust said it is clear there is more to do to ensure care continues to improve, and the recommendations of the Lampard Inquiry will be an important part of this.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Lampard Inquiry has heard that there is no ‘strong independent evidence’ that a widely used monitoring system in mental health wards has improved patient safety. The inquiry is examining the deaths of more than 2,000 mental health patients in Essex over 24 years. It had previously heard ‘grave concerns’ about the widespread use of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":936,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}