Watford General to recruit a mental health matron after death

A hospital is to recruit a permanent matron for mental health after an incident in which a patient walked out alone and took his own life.

Paz Ogbe-Millar, 30, died near Harrow and Wealdstone station in December 2021 after leaving Watford General Hospital.

West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said it made several changes to its mental health services after a coroner called on it to act.

A spokesman said it would also keep its "policies and processes under review".

In February, a prevention of future deaths report (PFDR), compiled by North London coroner, Tony Murphy, revealed that Mr Ogbe-Millar might not have been "subjected to an appropriate level of observation" and left the hospital unaccompanied after suffering a mental health-related emergency.

It said that in the early hours of 2 December, he sent a text message to his mother, saying: "I'm sorry for my actions and I hope you all find peace".

He was taken into the emergency department at Watford General by police, where there was an "inadequate system for recording the information provided by the police to the hospital concerning his risk of self-harm", the report added.

Shortly afterwards, Mr Ogbe-Millar said he was leaving hospital to smoke a cigarette, but staff did not accompany him.

He died later the same day.

In a statement, the trust said it had a "deep commitment to patient safety and continuous improvement" and had "implemented several changes to strengthen our mental health services".

As well as an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system, which provided a patient's medical history, including mental health checks, it had "also refined our assessment tools to better identify and address potential risks", the trust said.

A spokesman added: "We are now recruiting for a dedicated permanent matron for mental health after a highly successful trial, which will further improve the support provided to our patients, staff, and service users."

The trust was piloting a suicide prevention pathway with mental health teams and would "continue to keep our policies and processes under regular review", the spokesman said.

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