A YOUNG man committed suicide within an hour of being released from NHS care – after warning health workers he was planning to kill himself.
Reece Lapina-Amarmelle’s death “was as predictable as night follows day,” according to a senior coroner.
The 20-year-old, from Hastings, had warned mental health workers at a discharge meeting that he intended to kill himself.
His parents tried to voice concerns about his release from the care of the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
Despite this, he was released and committed suicide – just eight months after his brother Kyle, 18, committed suicide.
The Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has now apologized and settled a civil lawsuit after a three-year struggle by his family for justice.
Mother Christina Lapina-Amarelle, 40, said: “Anyone who knew Reece before his deteriorated sanity would describe him as a beautiful person inside and out who always smiled and wanted to make people laugh.”
Reece had a long-standing psychiatric history with a diagnosis of emotionally unstable personality disorder and also post-traumatic stress disorder. ”
He had attempted suicide several times before being severed under the Mental Health Act on June 13, 2018.
When he was admitted to Bodiam Ward in Eastbourne, a care plan recommended an extended period of section due to his history of self-harm.
However, a discharge meeting took place nine days later on June 22.
During the reunion, Reece expressed suicidal thoughts, voices and intentions of committing suicide once released.
His “supportive” parents were not informed of the meeting.
Once they discovered the planned landfill, they raised their concerns with the trust.
However, their calls were not returned over the weekend.
Although he continued to express suicidal thoughts, he was released on June 25.
At this point, he refused to accept his discharge care plan or his medications.
It was recorded in his medical file that he said he “didn’t need any of these”.
His parents’ calls still had not been returned by the trust so they were not present to pick him up, although they said they would like to be.
His mother then received a text from her son telling her that he loved her.
Ms Lapina-Amarelle returned the call with the expectation that he would still be in the hospital, but discovered he was on the verge of suicide.
Police were dispatched to speak to Reece, but despite their interactions with him, he committed suicide – less than an hour after his release.
During an inquest into his death in 2019, Chief Coroner Alan Craze said that “Reece doing what he did was as predictable as night follows day.”
He confirmed he would prepare a Settlement 28 notice that would go to the trust, NHS England and the Secretary of State for Health, asking them to explain the steps they would take to prevent future deaths.
He said it was “difficult to think of a more serious case that should be brought to the attention of the authorities.”
Reece’s mother, Ms Lapina-Amarelle, added: “The week before his release, anyone who spoke to Reece or met him would say it was the wrong decision and that he was not ready or in a state of mind fit for release.
“We phoned the ward nurse on Friday after Reece told us about a meeting the ward had held with him to discuss discharge plans for Monday, June 25 and expressed our concerns which went unanswered.
“What hurts us the most is that we were denied any opportunity to speak on his behalf when the trust was considering his release and again the ability to get him back when they released him on June 25. , which was a specific request I made in my call to them on Friday.
“It was at odds with the admitting care plan drawn up by the ward’s doctors in May, who indicated they wanted the family to be more involved. We feel very disappointed with the trust.
“We denounce Reece’s situation because there is not enough effort for young adults who are suffering from their mental health. Our local trust in the NHS appears to depend heavily on community services, which are very limited.
“We believe that needs to change because a person’s mental health needs can vary depending on the person and the severity of their illness. manage within the community.
An internal investigation by the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust found that a clear exit care plan had not been formed as to the support that would be available to Reece once he was released into the community.
He admitted that Reece’s parents had not been contacted and should have been about the release.
In a letter, Trust CEO Samantha Allen told the family: “I want to say how sorry I am for the loss of your son, Reece.
“I’m sorry Reece was not referred to the Confidence Scale Risk Panel to support decision making on her discharge and treatment plan.
“I am also sorry that you were not at the discharge meeting on June 22 and that there was a delay in returning your appeal between June 22 and June 25.”
Ben Davey, Senior Certified Legal Officer at Dean Wilson Solicitors LLP, said: “This case just shows the catastrophic consequences of a bad decision.
“As part of the claim, we obtained evidence from an independent psychiatric expert who said it was remiss to discharge Reece when the trust did so.
“He was a young man in serious need of support and unfortunately the system failed him.
“We have never received a satisfactory response as to why Reece was allowed to leave a secure psychiatric unit while continuing to express suicidal ideation.”
The Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has been contacted for comment.
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Source: www.theargus.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-08-25 05:29:54
