THE mother of Connor Sparrowhawk has welcomed the Health and Safety Executive’s decision to take an NHS Trust to court for failing her son, but says she is still waiting for an apology.

Sara Ryan, whose 18-year old son drowned in a bath following an epileptic fit in 2013, was speaking after the HSE decision to launch prosecution proceedings against Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust.

The Trust is to be prosecuted under section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 following an investigation into Connor’s death.

She told the Oxford Mail, meanwhile, that all she has ever wanted was an apology from the Trust.

She said: “I am very pleased and they have made the right decision to take action.

“We should never have had to fight so hard but good for the Health and Safety Executive.

“I think the way the Trust has treated us over the past four years is reprehensible and they should apologise to us for the way they have treated us.

“My son died but this is a form of accountability."

In October 2015 a jury inquest ruled unanimously that neglect had played a part in his death.

At the time he had been at a Headington care unit, Slade House, run by Southern Health NHS Trust.

The Trust is now in the process of winding up its operations in Oxfordshire and Slade House is likely to be gifted to the local NHS Trust, Oxford Health at an unspecified date.

Recalling the tragic incident Mrs Ryan said: “He should never have died, we know that. It has been awful the last four years.

“The Trust has said it has apologised to us but they haven’t. We haven’t heard anything even now after everything that has happened.

“It would cost nothing to just pick up the phone or even send an email and say ‘we are so sorry’.

“At the same time if Southern Health and the county council had said to us ‘we are so sorry, this is terrible what has happened, we are going to do everything we can to get to the bottom of this’ then we would not have had to fight the way we did.

“None of them did that, they all hunkered down to protect themselves and I find that unforgivable.

“All we wanted was an apology.”

Last October Katrina Percy eventually announced she would be standing down as chief executive.

No court date has yet been set for the prosecution.

Julie Dawes, Interim Chief Executive of Southern Health said it had been informed of the HSE's intention to prosecute.

She added: "Connor’s death whilst in our care could have been prevented and we would like to once again offer our unreserved apologies to his family.

"Since 2013 significant improvements have been made and the organisation continues to do everything it can to improve the quality and safety of services."

HSE spokesman Asmar Chaudhry said: “HSE is prosecuting Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 following its investigation into the death of a patient under its care, Connor Sparrowhawk.”