Sussex Partnership question police probe
Bosses of a mental health trust at the centre of an investigation into the deaths of four patients have suggested police acted because one of the four was a serving officer.
Sussex Police are looking into the apparent suicides of Susannah Anley, 35, in April 2008, Michael Stevens, 55, in November 2008, Sergeant Richard Bexhell, 49, in August 2009, and John Blair, 40, in October 2009.
Mr Stevens was found hanged at the Meadowfield Hospital in Worthing, while the others died after being admitted to the Woodlands unit.
Sussex Partnership NHS Trust closed Woodlands after Mr Blair's death, and hope to reopen it over the next few months once a "no holds barred" review is completed.
Lisa Rodrigues and John Bacon, the trust's chief executive and chairman, questioned whether Sussex Police would have acted in the same way were it not for the tragic death of Richard Bexhell.
"We work very closely with Sussex Police on a daily basis and very much value that relationship," said Mrs Rodrigues. "But I do not think it is irrelevant that Richard Bexhell was a serving police officer. Normally deaths at our units that appear to be suicides are investigated at a very junior level.
"The response to Sgt Bexhell's death was very strong.
"The force had four officers apparently take their own lives over a period of 16 months, and I think what is going on is that the police are making sure they are doing their job properly."
"At this stage the police cannot find any crime has been committed and are not talking about any possible charges," added Mr Bacon.
Sgt Bexhell's family have asked solicitors Russell, Jones and Walker to take on their case, and it emerged yesterday the same firm is acting on behalf of Susannah Anley's family.
Mrs Rodrigues said any death of a patient was 'devastating' for all the trust's staff and outlined the difficulties in caring for suicidal patients.
"We have to strike a balance between a risk managed environment and providing therapeutic care as part of a trusting relationship," she said.
"We make regular ligature assessments of our wards, but in every room there are hundreds of possible points. The key thing is to keep seriously suicidal patients under observation and act as soon as we find a potential problem."
"The ingenuity of people who are mentally ill to find way to harm themselves is boundless," added Mr Bacon. "At least one of these four deaths was linked to a problem nobody could have foreseen.
"After Mr Blair's death, we took the temporary decision to remove belts from all patients as a matter of course. That is against national guidelines and we have had lots of complaints but we acted decisively."
Immediate changes to the way observations were recorded were implemented after Sgt Bexhell's death and once reviews are completed, disciplinary action will take place if appropriate, as happened following Mr Stevens's death.
"The important thing is we will learn any lessons that can be learned and we are committed to providing a first class mental health service when Woodlands opens again," said Mrs Rodrigues.
Mrs Rodrigues also clarified her recently announced decision to stand down.
"We have been talking about it for the past year and I think the suggestion that senior people only move on if they have done something wrong or are going on to something better is pathetic. I have been offered jobs but wanted to do something different."
"If Lisa's departure was linked to her performance we would not keep her in the job for seven months while we appoint a successor," added Mr Bacon.
Sussex Police declined to comment at this stage.
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Monday 28 May 2012
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