A mental health patient was able to enter a restricted area of a hospital and attempt to take his life by hanging himself from a tree.
The suicide attempt came three days after a representative from the trust pleaded guilty to a serious health and safety charge after a 20-year-old patient died falling from a chimney at the hospital.
The man, who the newspaper is not naming, was found hanging in the courtyard of Epsom Hospital on Monday, January 30, according to a source close to the Epsom Guardian.
A Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust spokeswoman confirmed that he survived the attempt and is now in a stable condition in hospital.
The trust provides specialist mental health and learning disability services for people in Surrey.
The suicide attempt happened three days after a representative from the trust pleaded guilty to a serious health and safety charge after a 20-year-old patient died falling from a chimney at the hospital.
From January 2016: Mother tells inquest of moment son Adam Withers fell to his death from Epsom Hospital chimney
At Adam Withers’ inquest in January 2016, a jury concluded his death was “caused or more than minimally contributed to by" multiple failures of SABP.
From June 2015: Mental health patients barred from hospital courtyard after 20-year-old climbed and fell from chimney
Mr Withers’ death in May 2014 prompted the Trust to adopt a number of security measures – including restricting patients’ access to the courtyard.
In the most recent case, the man had been admitted to the Langley Wing mental health unit after attempting to kill himself, the Epsom Guardian understands.
He tried to take his life again while at the hospital.
A spokeswoman for the trust stated initial reports indicate staff performed CPR on the man while colleagues called for an ambulance.
Jo Young, director of quality and nursing at Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I can confirm that on January 30 a patient was injured during a suspected suicide attempt in the courtyard garden of our mental health unit at Epsom Hospital. Thankfully the person involved is now in a stable condition in hospital.
“I am very sorry this has happened and we are undertaking an internal investigation to understand how this occurred and to identify any lessons we can learn to improve the care and treatment we provide.
“Our initial reports indicate that our staff acted quickly to prevent a fatality by making the person safe and performing CPR while ward colleagues called for an ambulance.”
Got a story? Get in touch at craig.richard@london.newsquest.co.uk
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