Family claim mental health patient died after 'brutal' restraint

The family of a mental health patient have claimed he died after experiencing "brutal use of force" by police and security staff at a Fife hospital.

Joseph Sneddon, 37, was being treated in Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy when he died in April last year.

His relatives said they were told he was restrained for up to four hours by six officers and two guards.

Police Scotland and NHS Fife both said they were unable to comment on the ongoing Crown Office investigation.

A separate probe is being carried out by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc).

Mr Sneddon's family and their solicitor Aamer Anwar met Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC on Wednesday to voice their concerns about the case.

Earlier they held a news conference in Edinburgh to raise awareness about the father-of-two's death.

His mother Jane Sneddon, 64, said: "All I want is answers as to what happened to my son and why he isn't at home with me and his family.

"There is no reason why he shouldn't be with his sons now.

"I want to know who was in contact with Joe during the four hours he was strapped to a hospital bed, obviously afraid and wanting to go home."

Ms Sneddon said her son did not die from alcohol or drugs but rather "through the negligence of hospital staff and police".

Sister Laura, 37, said: "We put my brother into hospital to get the help he needed - instead he was taken away from us. Joe was well loved and we miss him every day."

On 6 April last year the family called an ambulance for Mr Sneddon as he was experiencing a mental health crisis and they were becoming increasingly concerned about his behaviour.

He was admitted to the Victoria Hospital and was described as confused but stable by Laura when she visited him the following day.

That night the family were told he had become "agitated" and would be moved to another ward.

But at 03:12 on 8 April staff contacted Laura and told her to come down to the hospital as her brother had taken a turn for the worse.

On arrival Laura and her parents were told he had not been moved and they were directed to a small room.

According to Mr Sneddon's mother a male doctor told them: "Sorry Joe has passed, his heart stopped, we worked on him for 30 minutes but couldn't bring him back."

The family saw two Police Scotland officers at the nurses' station, which was close to his bed, and received a call from the force the following afternoon.

But despite being initially told officers would visit, they said local police informed them it would be taken out of their hands and was being dealt with by Pirc, which investigates deaths in police custody.

The family claim they were told it was "complicated" when they asked if Mr Sneddon's death was being treated as a death in custody.

They also said they were kept in the dark about where his body had been taken until a funeral director told them it was in Edinburgh.

In November, the family was told his cause of death was "sudden death in a man with a significant acidosis following a prolonged period of struggling and restraint".

The family finally obtained a copy of the redacted post-mortem examination report showing Mr Sneddon had been restrained for "at least a four-hour period" and had been very agitated and "extensively fighting" against the restraints.

Mr Sneddon weighed only 8st 2lbs (52kg) at the time of his death despite being 6ft 3in tall , and had a total of 34 separate injuries.

Speaking after a meeting the family, the Lord Advocate thanked them for sharing their experiences.

Ms Bain added: "I was able to update them on the initial and ongoing investigation into Joseph's death and I listened carefully to what they had to say.

"The Crown is committed to the thorough and effective investigation of all deaths which occur in legal custody."

Police Scotland said its thoughts and sympathies were with Mr Sneddon's family.

A spokeswoman said: "Police Scotland has co-operated fully with the investigation into this matter and will continue to support all those involved.

"Given that inquiries remain ongoing, we are unable to comment further."

A NHS Fife spokesperson said: "We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family on the loss of their loved one.

"NHS Fife is unable to comment further whilst inquiries are ongoing."