The mental trust, which was found guilty earlier this month of health and safety breaches in the care of 22-year-old Alice Figueiredo who died at Goodmayes hospital, has come under further scrutiny following a BBC investigation.

The probe found serious concerns had been raised by coroners over the deaths of 20 other patients over the last 10 years.

These included Winbourne Charlies who took his own life on 10 April 2021 five months after being admitted to Goodmayes hospital.

A Prevention of Future Deaths report revealed Charles was left unchecked for around two hours on the day he died despite being identified as high risk.

A spokesperson for NELFT said: ‘We apologise unreservedly for the death of Mr Charles' whilst in our care.  We continue to work to improve safety and treatment for patients, as well as the experience of families and carers. More specifically we have undertaken significant work to improve the quality of record keeping, clinical documentation and care planning. We have invested in addressing historic workforce shortages and improving the environment in our wards.

‘Crucially, we are changing the way we assess and manage risk and all of our inpatient staff have been trained in doing so. Importantly, we are transforming the culture in our wards by focusing on nurturing the therapeutic relationship between staff, patients and their families.'