The Charity Commission has opened a compliance case into a mental health charity amid an ongoing police investigation.
Northamptonshire Police launched a corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter investigation into St Andrew’s Healthcare following the death of a teenage girl at one of its hospitals in October 2024.
Police continue to investigate allegations of criminality at the Northampton hospital, including assault, wilful neglect and ill treatment, after making several arrests.
The commission has now confirmed that it is looking into activities at St Andrew’s Healthcare to assess safeguarding concerns.
Governance and financial viability have also been identified by the regulator as potential issues at the charity.
A commission spokesperson said it was “engaging with the charity’s trustees and other regulators to determine our next steps” following St Andrew’s Healthcare's submission of a serious incident report.
The charity told Civil Society: “We remain actively involved with the commission.
“We note the letter that NHS England has published setting out its intention to find alternative placements for inpatients at St Andrew’s Northampton hospital,” a spokesperson said.
“Patient wellbeing is our priority, and we are working with NHS to understand next steps to support patients and manage any change to their care.”
On 9 March, the charity announced that its chief executive Vivienne McVey, appointed in September 2022, had retired.
St Andrew’s Healthcare, which works in partnership with the NHS to provide complex mental health support to patients in hospital and in the community, also runs facilities in Essex and Birmingham.
It recorded an income in its most recent accounts to 31 March 2025 of £236m, most of which came from government contracts.
The charity, founded in 1838, launched its first fundraising appeal in over a century last year.
The charity has nine active trustees, according to its Charity Commission listing.
A spokesperson for St Andrew's Healthcare told Civil Society that all staff subject to police investigations were immediately suspended.
"Several staff were dismissed following our own internal investigations and a disciplinary process," they added. "We referred several members of staff to the Nursing and Midwifery Council."
