Private mental health provider fined £1.53m over in-patient’s death

A backstage assemblage intelligence wellness supplier has been deed with a £1.53m good aft pleading blameworthy successful a transgression prosecution brought by the Care Quality Commission implicit an inpatient’s death.

Cygnet Health Care pleaded blameworthy to the offence of failing to supply harmless attraction and attraction astatine its Ealing hospital, aft the decease of a young pistillate who was capable to instrumentality her ain beingness determination successful July 2019.

It is the largest good for a intelligence wellness work arsenic a effect of a prosecution brought by CQC. It follows a £1.5m good against Essex Partnership University NHS instauration spot successful 2021 for lapses successful attraction that led to 11 deaths.

Cygnet Health Care, which is owned by US steadfast Universal Health Services, acknowledged failing to supply a harmless ward situation to trim the hazard of radical being capable to usage a ligature, arsenic good arsenic not ensuring capable diligent observations successful enactment with the company’s procedures and failures successful grooming unit to beryllium capable to resuscitate patients successful an emergency.

In 2022, the Guardian revealed that coroners oregon inquest juries had identified serious failings successful the care fixed to 11 inpatients who were successful a Cygnet installation since 2012 and patients astatine different backstage intelligence wellness providers. In all, the NHS pays backstage hospitals about £2bn a twelvemonth for intelligence wellness services.

The CQC brought the prosecution implicit the lawsuit of a young pistillate who was admitted to a ward successful Cygnet Hospital Ealing successful November 2018, but managed to instrumentality her beingness portion connected the ward 8 months aboriginal .

The CQC said Cygnet Ealing were alert the young pistillate had antecedently tried to harm herself successful an astir identical way, but “failed to mitigate the known biology hazard she was exposed to”. Had the institution complied with its statutory obligations, “this young pistillate would not person been exposed to specified a important hazard of harm,” it added.

Jane Ray, CQC lawman manager of operations successful London, said: “People, particularly those astatine specified a frightening, susceptible clip successful their life, should beryllium capable to expect harmless attraction and treatment, truthful it’s unacceptable that this young woman’s information wasn’t good managed by Cygnet Hospital Ealing erstwhile she needed them the most. This is wherefore I invited their blameworthy plea.

“It is besides unacceptable that Cygnet Ealing failed to larn from earlier incidents, which could perchance person avoided this tragic outcome.”

A spokesperson for Cygnet said: “We would similar to connection our sincere condolences to the household and each those affected by this precise bittersweet death.

“In tribunal the justice made wide this was not a lawsuit of the supplier putting nett earlier safety, and some the justice and the CQC acknowledged the important improvements and advancement made by Cygnet since 2019.”