The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry at a large mental health charity as a police investigation continues.
Northamptonshire Police launched a corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter investigation into the death of a teenage girl at one of the charity’s hospitals in October 2024.
The charity then submitted a serious incident report in August 2025 concerning the potential mistreatment of patients at its Northampton site.
Northamptonshire Police said today that its officers continue to investigate allegations of criminality at the Northampton hospital, including assault, wilful neglect and ill treatment, after making several arrests.
All staff investigated by police were suspended, the charity previously told Civil Society.
In March, the regulator opened a compliance case into St Andrew’s Healthcare but has now decided to take more serious action due to “ongoing concerns” over safeguarding and governance.
The commission said today that its inquiry will assess the extent to which trustees are cooperating with other regulators, including the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and NHS England.
It will also look at the governance processes at the charity, its future viability and the extent of any reputational harm caused.
Charity focused on ‘rapid improvements’
St Andrew’s Healthcare, founded in 1838, works with the NHS to provide mental health support to patients in hospital and the community, also running facilities in Essex and Birmingham.
A charity spokesperson told Civil Society that it was working with the commission to address the problems identified.
“Our priority is to ensure safe care for all patients and to drive rapid improvements in quality,” they said.
“A detailed action plan is already underway, overseen with the support of NHS England, and driven by new leadership at board, executive and clinical levels.”
According to its CQC listing, St Andrew’s Healthcare remains “inadequate”, the lowest overall category and one that prompts regulatory enforcement action.
St Andrew’s Healthcare, which describes itself as the country’s “leading independent charitable provider of specialist mental health care”, received £201m in government grants in the latest financial year ending 31 March 2025.
Its income from government contracts has increased year-on-year since the financial year 2021-22 when it received about £153m from the state.
