A criminal investigation has been launched by the UK’s healthcare watchdog following the death of a teenager admitted to an NHS mental health unit. Lucy Curtis, aged 17, died on New Year’s Day in 2024 following an incident at Riverside Adolescent Unit at Blackberry Hill Hospital in Bristol. Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (AWP) temporarily closed the site weeks later after it said internal reviews “did not provide assurance that the unit could consistently deliver a safe level of care moving forward”. A full inquest into Lucy’s death is set to take place in June. This week, AWP confirmed that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) had started an investigation into the care and treatment of the teenager, which could potentially lead to prosecution for failures to provide safe care resulting in avoidable harm. Any prosecution would be brought under the Health and Social Care Act.…