A hospital trust has been penalized over £500,000, and a ward manager has received a suspended sentence of six months following the death of a 22-year-old woman in a mental health facility.
Alice Figueiredo was undergoing treatment at Goodmayes Hospital in Ilford when she took her own life using plastic bags from a shared restroom, having previously attempted suicide on multiple occasions.
The North-East London Foundation NHS Trust (NELFT), which operates the hospital, along with 53-year-old ward manager Benjamin Aninakwa, were found guilty of health and safety violations in June, after an Old Bailey jury determined they failed to take adequate measures to prevent Ms. Figueiredo’s death.
As a result, NELFT faced a fine of £565,000, and Aninakwa was also mandated to complete 300 hours of community service without pay.
Note that this article includes content that some may find disturbing.
For those affected by any issues discussed in this article, support and guidance can be accessed through the BBC Action Line.
The hospital had previously recognized the dangers associated with keeping plastic bags on the ward and consequently removed them from patient rooms. However, despite alerts from Ms. Figueiredo’s family, the bags remained in the shared toilet, which was left unlocked.
Judge Richard Marks KC of the Old Bailey characterized Ms. Figueiredo’s passing as a “terrible tragedy” and noted significant shortcomings in her care.
The judge emphasized to Aninakwa that addressing the risks related to the plastic bags should have been a top priority.
During the trial, the prosecution argued that incidents of self-harm involving Ms. Figueiredo while hospitalized were inadequately documented and assessed, a point the judge termed “lamentable.”
Mr. Marks remarked, “While you express sorrow over Alice’s death, your understanding of what you did wrong is superficial. It is deeply concerning that you appear to be in denial.”
Aninakwa, who remains employed at NELFT, is in the process of appealing his conviction for failing to exercise reasonable care for the health and safety of others affected by his actions or inactions at work.
In a victim impact statement delivered in court on Monday, Ms. Figueiredo’s mother, Jane Figueiredo, portrayed her daughter as articulate, compassionate, and humorous.
Mrs. Figueiredo criticized the care provided at Goodmayes Hospital, labeling her daughter’s death as “preventable,” and condemned the Trust for not offering a formal apology to the family in the decade since her passing.
“Instead of the happiness, affection, and laughter that Alice brought to my life, I’m left with a profound void. At times, I have struggled immensely with the overwhelming despair of facing a life without Alice. We all have.”
Ms. Figueiredo’s stepfather, Max Figueiredo, informed the court that her challenges with bipolar affective disorder “never hindered her from fully embracing life.”
