The Lampard Inquiry, investigating deaths of more than 2,000 mental health patients in Essex over a 24-year span, heard testimony regarding the evidentiary basis for Oxevision, a monitoring system deployed across many mental health wards in the National Health Service. The technology uses infrared sensors and cameras to monitor patients in their rooms.
Two experts from the University of Oxford were called to present findings from a review of 45 studies that had been cited to justify the introduction of Oxevision throughout the NHS. The academics identified methodological concerns with several of the studies, noting that some involved employees of Oxevision or lacked sufficient scope. Their assessment concluded that the reviewed studies “did not provide strong independent evidence of improved patient safety, acceptability or cost effectiveness.” One expert noted, however, that implementing the type of rigorous research design typically considered ideal would present practical challenges in a mental health ward environment.
LIO Health, the company operating Oxevision, has maintained that the technology plays a crucial role in supporting safer inpatient mental health care and cited its impact as “significant.” The company reported that in one NHS trust alone, the system assisted staff in responding to 1,453 safety incidents over a four-year period. The company also noted that such monitoring technology had not previously existed in the medical device sector.
Legal representatives for bereaved families and advocacy groups called for stronger evidence standards. Law firm Hodge Jones & Allen, representing more than 120 families at the inquiry, stressed the absence of clear evidence supporting the technology’s benefit to patient safety. The campaign group Stop Oxevision raised broader concerns about regulatory gaps that have allowed technologies without robust independent evidence to be widely deployed.
The inquiry will reconvene in October, with additional hearings continuing through late 2027 and a final report expected in 2028.
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