Patient managed to abscond from secure unit, inquest told

Lee William Davies, 35, from Oswestry, had been detained at the Redwoods Centre in Shrewsbury as an involuntary patient.

He disappeared from the centre on June 17, 2019.

At an inquest into his death which began today assistant coroner for Shropshire, Mrs Joanne Lees, told a jury that the main issue to be looked at was how Mr Davies had been able to abscond from a secure ward.

“He was detained under the mental health act and he had absconded on a previous occasion,” Mrs Lees said.

Mr Davies’ mother, Mrs Crystal Harris, in a statement to the inquest, said her son has suffered from mental health issues from an early age and had been since been diagnosed with schizophrenia, psychosis and a personality disorder.

“He was a nice lad and wouldn’t do anybody any harm,” she said.

She said that the former Beech Grove and Rhyn Park pupil loved swimming as a boy and supported Manchester United.

“We used to go down to the river where he would swim,” she said.

She said she visited him at the centre and also spoke to him on the phone every day.

Mr Davies was admitted to the Redwood Centre as a voluntary in-patient on April 25, 2019 and on May 8 he was detained under the mental health act at the secure, Laurel Ward.

Medical records said Mr Davies had drug induced psychosis.

In a statement read to the inquest, Katrina Gall, from Shrewsbury Road, Church Stretton, said she had met Mr Davies at the Redwoods Centre and they had become friends.

On June 17 he rang her asking if he could visit her. He arrived early evening and she said did not take drugs or had alcohol while he was with her.

The next day when she tried to wake him he was not breathing.

Paramedics arrived and Mr Davies was airlifted to the Worcester Royal Infirmary, suffering four cardiac arrests during his treatment.

He died in hospital later that day. Toxicology results showed Mr Davies had taken drugs including heroin and cocaine. The medical cause of his death was brain injury due to cardiac arrest, due to self poisoning with narcotics.

The inquest heard that he had bruising that may have occurred as he climbed over a fence at the centre.

Mr Martin Bassett, consultant psychiatrist at the Redwoods Centre said that staff preferred to use a section order gently, to advise and persuade patients not to leave.

He said Mr Davies had left the centre on May 5 and while away for 24 hours he had taken drugs. On a second occasion he obtained drugs from someone in a field next to the centre's grounds.

Patients in Laurel Ward had access to its own garden within the much larger grounds of the centre and experienced, nursing staff made decisions on which patients could have access to the garden or larger grounds, he said.

Mr Davies was allowed into the grounds for short periods to smoke and was irritated that he could not go further afield.

The inquest continues.