NHS trust and ward manager sentenced for health and safety failings over suicide of young woman

Alice Figueiredo was being treated at Goodmayes Hospital, East London when she took her own life on Tuesday, 7 July, 2015, having previously made similar attempts.

The Old Bailey heard that both the North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT), which runs Goodmayes, and ward manager, Benjamin Aninakwa, 53 had failed in their duty of care to protect Alice from harm across the almost five months she was on the ward.

She had been under close observation on the Hepworth Ward, then managed by Aninakwa when she died.

Goodmayes Hospital. Photograph: Glyn Baker / geograph.org.uk

As the BBC reported, she attempted suicide using plastic or bin bags on 18 occasions, mostly taking them from the same shared toilet.

The hospital had previously acknowledged the risk to patients of keeping bin bags on the ward and they were subsequently taken out of patient bedrooms.

However, despite warnings from Alice's family, they were not removed from the communal toilet, which was left unlocked.

On 7 July 2015, at her 19th attempt, she took her own life using a bin bag taken from the toilet.

According to the Metropolitan Police, which led the investigation into her death, Aninakwa had failed to highlight Alice’s history of self-harming behaviour. He failed to direct staff to remove specific items from the communal areas of Hepworth Ward. Nor did he ensure that patients were properly observed by staff and that sufficient steps were taken to lock communal areas that were of concern.

During the trial, prosecutors said that not only was Alice repeatedly able to self-harm while she was in hospital, but that these incidents were not properly recorded or assessed.

Both the Trust and Aninakwa were sentenced at the Old Bailey in London on 10 November.

The Trust was fined £565,000 for breaches of Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act and was ordered to pay £200,000 in court costs, having been found guilty of failing to ensure that persons not in its employment, namely the patients, were not exposed to risks to their health or safety. 

Akinawa was found guilty of failure to take reasonable care for the health and safety of other persons affected by his acts or omissions at work. He was fined under section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work Act and was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and was ordered to complete 300 hours of unpaid work.

Detective Chief Inspector Joanna Yorke, from Specialist Crime North which led the investigation, said: "While the vast majority of NHS staff do excellent work, the sentence today highlights the fact that hospitals have a duty of care to their patients – and breaches of this will not be ignored.”

The Trust was not found guilty of the higher charges of corporate and gross negligence manslaughter, against which it was also tried. 

In a statement, a spokesperson for NELFT said: "Our thoughts are with Alice's family and loved ones, who lost her at such a young age. We extend our deepest sympathy for the pain and heartbreak they have suffered this past 10 years.

"We will reflect on the verdict and its implications, both for the trust and mental health provision more broadly as we continue to work to develop services for the communities we serve."