Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust has told the Lampard Inquiry that its approach to patient consent for the Oxevision camera monitoring system was wrong, after the inquiry heard that the system ran automatically on admission to certain wards and that requests from patients to switch it off could take up to 72 hours to consider.
Zephan Trent, the trust's executive director of strategy, transformation and digital, told the inquiry that consent to use of Oxevision should not have been implied at admission and should have been explicit informed consent. The trust introduced an opt-in policy in August 2026. Until then, a patient who objected to being monitored in their bedroom had to wait for a multidisciplinary clinical team to assess the request.
The Lampard Inquiry, chaired by Baroness Lampard, is examining the deaths of more than 2,000 people who were inpatients in mental health units in Essex over the 24 years to the end of 2023. It has been sitting for the past two weeks at the Civic Centre in Chelmsford.
Oxevision, supplied by LIO Health, uses infrared sensors and cameras installed in patients' bedrooms to capture images and measure pulse and breathing rates. It does not record sound, and staff monitor the system on tablets and computers. The company says it is in use in about half of NHS mental health inpatient units in England, and that it is intended to support patient safety rather than replace in-person checks or staff presence on wards.
Video monitoring of a patient in a mental health bedroom involves the processing of health data, a special category of personal data under Article 9 of the UK GDPR, requiring both a lawful basis under Article 6 and an Article 9 condition. Where a controller relies on consent, it must be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous, and capable of being withdrawn as easily as it was given.
The ICO confirmed in July this year that it is investigating Oxehealth, the company behind the system before its rebranding as LIO Health, and said it could not comment further while the investigation was live.
The inquiry heard that NHS England had identified 57 incidents nationally in which staff used Oxevision's 15-second video function instead of checking on patients in person. LIO Health said this was contrary to its guidance.
NHS England raised serious patient safety concerns about Oxevision with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in 2021, covering both how the system was being used and claims made about its capabilities. Dr Robert Read, the MHRA's deputy director for innovative devices, told the inquiry the manufacturer had claimed Oxevision reduced self-harm, but did not provide the clinical evidence the regulator requested and the claim was withdrawn. The inquiry was also told that false pulse readings had been reported to the British Standards Institution in 2023.
Laura Cozens, head of patient safety at LIO Health, accepted that further research was needed but said it should take place while Oxevision remained in use so that patients did not miss out on its potential benefits. EPUT said its trial feedback showed 75% of patients felt the system made them safer and 70% thought it improved their wellbeing, and both the trust and the company said it had helped staff intervene in incidents and save lives. The trust spent a net £4.3m on Oxevision between 2020 and 2025, including installation, software fees and training.
NHS England told the inquiry that responsibility for the use of the technology rests with individual trusts.
Core participants, including bereaved families, will make submissions on possible interim recommendations at a virtual hearing on Tuesday, after which Baroness Lampard will consider whether measures are needed to protect current patients.
