Concerns over the collection, processing, and retention of personal data have prompted the Information Commissioner's Office to formally investigate Oxehealth, the business that placed a camera-based patient monitoring system in the bedrooms of NHS mental health inpatients. The ICO confirmed the inquiry but said it could not comment further. Oxehealth, which has rebranded under the name LIO, said it is engaging with the regulator.

The system, called Oxevision, uses cameras and infrared sensors to monitor patients remotely from their bedrooms. It is currently in use across approximately 40% of NHS mental health trusts. Oxehealth says the technology improves patient safety and reduces pressure on nursing staff by providing continuous monitoring without requiring physical checks.

The investigation was prompted by a formal request from Stop Oxevision, a campaign group, whose lawyers at Bindmans wrote to the ICO arguing that NHS trusts have failed to establish a clear lawful basis for the data processing the system involves. Rachel Harger, a partner at the firm, said that a patient's hospital bedroom should remain a space where privacy is respected, and that where organisations rely on consent to justify data collection, that consent must be freely given and capable of being withdrawn. In an inpatient psychiatric setting, critics argue, those conditions are difficult to meet.

The system is also under examination at the Lampard inquiry, which is investigating the deaths of thousands of mental health patients in Essex. Evidence heard at the inquiry has included the case of Sophie Alderman, a 27-year-old woman with a history of serious mental ill health who died by suicide in August 2022 at Rochford Hospital in Essex while being monitored by Oxevision. Her mother, Tammy Smith, told the inquiry that the technology heightened her daughter's paranoia rather than reassuring her, and that it failed to prevent her death. Smith said Sophie had always been uncomfortable with cameras and was visibly distressed by the system's presence in her room.

Laura Cozens, head of patient safety at LIO, acknowledged to the inquiry that filming a patient around the clock constitutes a significant intrusion on privacy, and that the technology may not be appropriate for all patients. She said video recordings are only accessible on request and subject to governance controls.

Lawyers representing more than 150 families at the Lampard inquiry have raised concerns that go beyond individual cases. According to Nina Ali, a lawyer at Hodge Jones and Allen, there have been several occasions when employees seem to have replaced direct in-person inspections with Oxevision monitoring, including situations where fatalities have happened as a result of system alarms being muted, overlooked, or misinterpreted. She described the use of such surveillance in mental health bedrooms as unsafe, intrusive and potentially unlawful, and called for urgent recommendations to protect patients.

Selen Cavcav from the charity Inquest said the use of technologies of this kind can worsen emotional distress in inpatient settings, where patients already contend with the coercive aspects of compulsory or voluntary treatment and limited autonomy. She said resources should be directed towards approaches that place dignity at the centre of care.

Oxehealth rejected what it described as a dangerous narrative equating bedroom privacy with patient safety. According to a statement from the business, clinical data presented to the Lampard investigation reveals that the platform identified 436 instances of self-harm and 935 ligature occurrences on wards managed by Essex Partnership University NHS Trust alone, allowing staff to take appropriate action. The trust's own representatives told the inquiry that Oxevision had assisted in making more timely interventions and preserving life. The company said it continues to work with the NHS to improve safety in mental health settings.

The Lampard inquiry is scheduled to hear further evidence about the use of Oxevision in Essex mental health wards next month.