Jury concludes that “gross neglect” at private mental health hospital led to the death of Sam Boazman; Frederick Powell acted on behalf of the Family

Sam Boazman was an in-patient at Sturdee Community Hospital, a hospital run by Inmind Healthcare Group, which provided care and treatment to patients with complex trauma and mental health problems. Sam’s long history of ligaturing was known by staff. As a result, she was not supposed to have any ligatures in her possession at the time of her death.

On 22 October 2021, Sam became increasingly distressed at the prospect of her impending discharge, which was a known trigger for her anxiety. She was seen uncharacteristically crying and pacing throughout the day. Her requests for therapeutic support and sedative medication were not met by staff.  Shortly after 6pm on 22 October, Sam was found dead by staff, with a ligature around her neck. It transpired that staff had not properly checked on Sam in the hours before her death.

At the Inquest, the Jury found that there were repeated failures to provide therapeutic support, medication, and appropriate checks of Sam, as well as a basic failure to remove dangerous items from her room.  They found that these amounted to “gross neglect”.  In addition, the Coroner made a Prevention of Future Deaths report calling for actions from the hospital to rectify ongoing issues regarding training, observations, and emergency protocols.  

Frederick Powell, instructed by Charlotte Haworth Hird and Amy Ooi of Bhatt Murphy, acted for Sam’s family. More coverage of the case can be found on BBC, ITV, Leicester Mercury, Inquest.

Frederick specialises in healthcare-related inquests and human rights law.  For more information about Frederick, contact our Senior Inquests and Inquiries Practice Manager, Melvin Warner.