Hospital worker accused of causing patient’s death

A hospital worker allegedly caused the death of a 22-year-old psychiatric patient after gaining access to material she had used in previous suicide attempts, a court has heard.

Alice Figueiredo died on July 7, 2015 at Goodmayes Hospital, a mental health facility in Redbridge, North East London.

Benjamin Aninakwa, 53, who denies the allegations against him, was a ward manager of the Hepworth Ward at Goodmayes Hospital at the time of the alleged offences.

He is being tried at the Old Bailey, jointly with the North East London NHS Foundation Trust.

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Mr Aninakwa, of St Francis Way, Grays, Essex, has been charged with manslaughter by gross negligence and failing to take reasonable care of the health and safety of patients on the ward, which he denies.

It is alleged that Mr Aninakwa has failed to remove items from the department that could be used for self-harm and has failed to ensure that cases of self-harm are recorded, considered and addressed.

North East London NHS Foundation Trust denies corporate manslaughter and an offense of failing to ensure the health and safety of non-employees.

It is alleged that the trust failed to provide satisfactory medical and mental health care and to take reasonable steps to protect Ms Figueiredo from avoidable self-harm.

The jury was told that Alice had committed suicide with a garbage bag.

In the five months she had been there, she had tried to use plastic bags eighteen times in an attempt to commit suicide or harm herself.

Despite this, the court heard that rubbish bags were still being used in communal areas.

Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC said: “During her stay in hospital in 2015, Alice may have repeatedly attempted to harm herself when subjected to close observation by staff, but the incidents were not properly recorded.”

Mr Atkinson added that records of the incidents had not been properly assessed and her access to materials she used to harm herself was neither taken into account nor addressed.

The jury heard that Ms Figueiredo was a ‘bright and gifted’ woman who had been head girl at the school and who had set up a mentoring system to support her peers.

Her family described her as someone who was loved for her “warmth, kindness and cheerful nature”, the court was told.

She was first admitted to the Hepworth area in May 2012 with a diagnosis including a non-specific eating disorder and bipolar affective disorder, jurors heard.

The trial is expected to last nine weeks.

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