The Priory hospital chain is being sued over the death of a mental health patient who was found dead nine hours after walking out of a secure ward on Christmas Day.
Helen Tarry, 52, tailgated a staff member through two doors before pressing a fire alarm and running outside into the car park of the hospital in Arnold, Nottingham.
The council worker’s body was found by a dog walker on land next to a track on Boxing Day morning in 2022.
Ms Tarry’s devastated partner Howard Mather, 53, has now launched legal action against Britain’s largest mental healthcare chain.
An inquest found failings by the hospital and police led to her death and the coroner returned a conclusion of misadventure.
Helen Tarry’s body was found by a dog walker on land next to a track on Boxing Day morning in 2022
Failings by the hospital and police led to her death, the inquest found. Pictured: Priory Hospital, Arnold
Ms Tarry’s devastated partner Howard Mather (right) has now launched legal action against Britain’s largest mental healthcare chain
The hearing found there were ‘communication failures from all parties, inadequate risk management, missed opportunities to mitigate absconsion risk and insufficient senior oversight’.
Mr Mather said: ‘Helen and I started dating in 2013 and were planning to get married in the future.
‘Our relationship meant everything to me and to this day I still struggle with losing her so suddenly and unexpectedly.
‘When she began to show signs of distress and disorientation, I knew something wasn’t right, and her condition deteriorated so quickly.
‘When she went into the Priory, I believed she was in the best place to get better.
‘Sadly, that Christmas Day was the last time I saw her. Being told Helen was gone was the moment my whole life fell apart.
‘To think that she could still be here had she been given the right standard of care is unbearable.’
Mr Mather is being represented by medical negligence lawyers Irwin Mitchell.
Lawyer Rosie Charlton said: ‘We are approaching the second anniversary of Helen’s death and trying to come to terms with her loss and the circumstances surrounding it have been incredibly difficult for Howard.
‘The inquest identified missed opportunities in Helen’s care and Howard continues to have serious concerns about what happened to Helen.
‘All he wants is to ensure all possible issues in Helen’s care are identified and lessons are learned to ensure the highest standards of care are upheld to benefit other families.
Ms Tarry had tailgated a staff member through two doors before pressing a fire alarm and running outside into the car park of the hospital in Arnold, Nottingham.
‘People with mental health issues are some of the most vulnerable in society and should receive the highest standard of care and support.
‘He is using World Suicide Prevention Day to campaign for better mental health care across the country.’
Ms Tarry was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and admitted to the Priory Hospital in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, on December 13, 2022.
At the inquest Mr Mather said his partner of ten years had become ‘increasingly paranoid’ throughout November and December of that year.
He said the Covid pandemic and the recent death of her father had further impacted her mental health.
He described how Ms Tarry, a system support officer for Nottinghamshire County Council, had started to shred paperwork and hide items around their house before eventually moving in with her mum.
She also became convinced her phone had been hacked and called police on several occasions.
She was voluntarily referred to the Priory Hospital after being taken to Kings Mill Hospital, Mansfield, following a suicide attempt.
CCTV from earlier on Christmas Day showed staff at the hospital holding Ms Tarry back as she moved towards the ward’s exit.
Ms Tarry ran out of the hospital at 10.18pm and was wearing just a nightdress, slippers and gilet as temperatures plunged to just 2C.
She was found early the next morning without the gilet or slippers, with one of the slippers later found further down the farm track.
Failings by the hospital and police led to her death, the inquest found. Pictured: Nottingham Priory
Post-mortem examinations determined that while hypothermia and a cold-induced asthma attack were both possible, the exact cause of her death could not be determined.
The inquest heard Nottinghamshire Police should have had a minimum of one inspector, one sergeant, and 12 PCs on the ‘extremely busy night’.
However, only one inspector, one sergeant and seven PCs were working that night.
In February this year the inquest identified several ‘missed opportunities’ in Ms Tarry’s care which contributed to her death.
These were inadequate communication, risk management, incident reporting and training including a lack of understanding proper policy and the failure to follow policies in place.
Since her death, the hospital made several changes to how its services are run.
The health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission, recently upgraded the hospital’s rating from the lowest of ‘inadequate’ to ‘good’.
Mr Mather has welcomed the improvements, but he says more still needs to be done to ensure patient safety.
He added: ‘To hear that the CQC says the hospital has improved is a step in the right direction but it’s important not to get complacent.
‘Helen was incredibly vulnerable and needed a great deal of help, which I feel she didn’t get, and I wouldn’t want it happening to anyone else.
‘I don’t want Helen’s death to have been in vain’.
A spokesperson for The Priory hospital said: ‘Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Helen’s family and loved ones following her tragic death in 2022.
‘Following the inquest in February and our own investigations, we have made a number of improvements to our systems and processes at the hospital.
‘These include security awareness training for staff and further measures to prevent tailgating. We remain committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our patients.’
- For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
