Inquiry weighs banning intrusive Oxevision cameras after patient deaths in English mental health wards

The Lampard Inquiry, tasked with probing the deaths of thousands of mental-health patients in Essex, is set to decide if emergency interim guidance should prohibit the Oxevision camera system on hospital wards. The technology, now used by roughly 50 % of English mental-health trusts, monitors movement, abnormal behaviour, pulse and respiration remotely. Campaign groups claim it has supplanted direct staff observation, leading to fatal incidents such as the death of Elise Sebastian, whose alerts were muted for nearly 30 minutes.

Legal counsel for the Stop Oxevision campaign has asked the Information Commissioner’s Office to assess the platform’s data-handling legality. Families, represented by Nina Ali of Hodge Jones & Allen, have highlighted cases like Sophie Alderman’s suicide, alleging the cameras heightened paranoia and failed to trigger timely help. Lio, the developer, acknowledges privacy concerns but cites thousands of instances where the system aided staff and prevented serious harm.