Hospital trust fined £500k over death of patient

A hospital trust has been fined more than £500,000 and a ward manager given a six-month suspended sentence over the death of a 22-year-old woman on a mental health unit.

Alice Figueiredo was being treated at Goodmayes Hospital in Ilford when she took her own life using bin bags from a shared toilet, having previously made many similar attempts.

The North-East London Foundation NHS Trust (NELFT), which runs the hospital, and ward manager Benjamin Aninakwa, 53, were convicted of health and safety offences in June when an Old Bailey jury found they did not do enough to prevent Ms Figueiredo's death.

NELFT was fined £565,000 and Aninakwa must also complete 300 hours of unpaid community service.

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The hospital had previously acknowledged the risk to patients of keeping bin bags on the ward and they were subsequently taken out of patient bedrooms.

However, despite warnings from Ms Figueiredo's family, they were not removed from the communal toilet, which was left unlocked.

The Old Bailey judge His Honour, Judge Richard Marks KC, described Ms Figueiredo's death as a "terrible tragedy", and said there had been serious failings in the care she received.

The judge told Aninakwa that dealing with the risks posed by the bin bags should have been a priority.

During the trial, the prosecution also said incidents of self-harm involving Ms Figueiredo while she was in hospital were not properly recorded or assessed - something the judge described as "lamentable."

Mr Marks said: "Whilst you regret Alice's death you have no real insight into what you did wrong.

"I find the fact you clearly remain in a state of denial very troubling."

Aninakwa, who still works at NELFT, is appealing against his conviction for failure to take reasonable care for the health and safety of others affected by acts or omissions at work.

Giving a victim impact statement in court on monday, Ms Figueiredo's mother Jane Figueiredo described her daughter as articulate, kind and funny.

Mrs Figueiredo was critical of the care provided at Goodmayes Hospital, describing her daughter's death as "preventable". She also criticised the Trust for not "formally apologising" to the family in the ten years since her death.

"Instead of the joy, love, affection and laughter Alice brought to my life, I've been left with the silent, empty void. I have really struggled at times with my own overwhelming sense of despair at having to face life without Alice. We all have."

Ms Figueiredo's stepfather Max Figueiredo told the court that her struggles with bipolar affective disorder "never stopped her from living life to the full".