An NHS trust has been fined \u00a3200,000 for failing to provide \u00ab\u00a0safe care and treatment\u00a0\u00bb for a 16-year-old girl who died on hospital grounds after fleeing her ward.<\/p>\n
Ellame Ford-Dunn, from Upper Beeding, West Sussex, died at Worthing Hospital in March 2022 where she had been admitted as a mental health inpatient.<\/p>\n
She ran into the grounds of the hospital and was not immediately followed by a nurse because of \u00ab\u00a0confusion\u00a0\u00bb and a lack of appropriate procedure in place, the court heard.<\/p>\n
Last month, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust (UHST) pleaded guilty to failing to provide safe care and treatment to Ellame which exposed her to a significant risk of \u00ab\u00a0avoidable harm\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
At the sentencing on Wednesday at Brighton Magistrates’ Court, District Judge Tessa Szagun said \u00ab\u00a0clear instructions to follow Ellame\u00a0\u00bb if she left the ward \u00ab\u00a0should have been incorporated\u00a0\u00bb into the care plan.<\/p>\n
Ellame had been under 24-hour one-to-one supervision by a registered mental health nurse on an acute ward at Worthing Hospital.<\/p>\n
She was on that ward because there was \u00ab\u00a0no alternative\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0no adequate bed\u00a0\u00bb for her risk level was available, the court heard.<\/p>\n
The prosecution accepted the trust was in a \u00ab\u00a0difficult position\u00a0\u00bb and would have had to turn Ellame away otherwise.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0No tier four was readily available and the high demand for such beds is a national issue,\u00a0\u00bb said James Marsland, prosecuting.<\/p>\n
Judge Szagun added: \u00ab\u00a0Nothing that the defendant organisation expressed in terms of their heartfelt apology and condolence or regret at the consequences of their accepted omissions, nor any fine I impose, or indeed any sentencing remarks I make, can begin to make any difference to how her family have been impacted by the devastation and shock of this loss.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Speaking outside the court, Ellame’s father Ken Ford-Dunn said the prosecution \u00ab\u00a0recognised the significant failures\u00a0\u00bb in their daughter’s care.<\/p>\n
He remembered Ellame as a \u00ab\u00a0bright firework in the dark sky\u00a0\u00bb and a \u00ab\u00a0loving caring soul\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0She was deeply loved and painfully missed,\u00a0\u00bb he added. \u00ab\u00a0The loss of Ellame has been devastating to all who loved her.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0There’s no greater heartbreak than losing a child. But to lose a child that you believed was being kept safe, creates a pain beyond measure and a deep searing anger.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Mr Ford-Dunn said no financial penalty could ever \u00ab\u00a0match the destruction that has been caused\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
He also called for the money to be used by the CQC to fund children’s mental health services.<\/p>\n
Chief nurse Dr Maggie Davies, spokesperson for UHST, said: \u00ab\u00a0The loss of Ellame was a tragedy for her and for those who loved her.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Colleagues involved in her care remain devastated by her death and the impact it continues to have on her family and friends.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Dr Davies added when the trust appeared at last month’s hearing, it \u00ab\u00a0acknowledged the seriousness of what happened\u00a0\u00bb and the \u00ab\u00a0devastating impact\u00a0\u00bb on Ellame’s family and friends.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0That remains true today,\u00a0\u00bb she added.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0We had a responsibility to protect her while she was in our care, and we are sincerely sorry that we were not able to do that.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Everyone accepts that people with acute mental illness should not be in general hospital wards or A&E departments, but that does not lessen our duty to keep patients safe whilst efforts are made to provide them with more appropriate care.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Dr Davies added since Ellame’s death, the trust had made \u00ab\u00a0significant improvements\u00a0\u00bb to its policies, training and ward environments to \u00ab\u00a0prevent anything like this happening again\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
The judge fined UHST \u00a3200,000 which they will pay to the Care Quality Commission, along with prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of \u00a3190.<\/p>\n
Additional reporting by PA.<\/p>\n
Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An NHS trust has been fined \u00a3200,000 for failing to provide \u00ab\u00a0safe care and treatment\u00a0\u00bb for a 16-year-old girl who died on hospital grounds after fleeing her ward. Ellame Ford-Dunn, from Upper Beeding, West Sussex, died at Worthing Hospital in March 2022 where she had been admitted as a mental health inpatient. She ran into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9498","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9498\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}