Dale said when he met Lucy’s family, he was “completely shocked” by the experiences he heard.
He said: “The care at the unit wasn’t delivered consistently in a way that we would aspire to in terms of being compassionate, thoughtful and inclusive of those using the service.”
Explaining what had gone wrong at Chalkhill, he said the issue was complicated.
“Some of it has to do with the fact that our estates were substandard and it was difficult to make improvements whilst the hospital was open,” he said.
“But some of it is also about the clinical model that people were working with, and by that I mean the ways the different staff work together, the way we involve families.”
The trust plans to re-open the unit towards the end of 2026.
“We will be opening with an entirely new team,” Dale said.
“We will be also drawing on our parents and young people in appointing that team and supporting them in reopening it, and the running of the hospital going forward.”
