An agency worker using a false ID left a 14-year-old girl he was meant to supervising at all times alone in a psychiatric hospital – and fled the country for Ghana after she died. Ruth Szymankiewicz was suffering from an eating disorder and was a patient who was supposed to be kept under constant supervision at Huntercombe Hospital, also known as Taplow Manor, near Maidenhead in Berkshire.
Just 10 days before her death, Ruth had been placed under strict one-to-one care following a self-harming incident, an inquest into her death at Buckinghamshire coroner’s court heard. But the care worker, who was using the fake name Ebo Acheampong, told a stunned colleague he had left Ruth alone.
Michelle Hancey, a support worker with 18 years’ experience at Huntercombe, teared up as she told a jury inquest on Wednesday about the moment Acheampong told her he “couldn’t follow” Ruth on the ward – and she realised to her horror the teenage girl was not being supervised.
Ruth had been able to shut herself in her bedroom at the hospital’s psychiatric intensive care unit – also known as Thames ward – where she self-harmed on February 12, 2022. She died two days later at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
It later emerged Acheampong, who was responsible for watching Ruth, had never worked in a psychiatric hospital environment prior to coming to Huntercombe Hospital on February 12 for his first shift.
Michelle Hancey told the jury inquest: “He (Acheampong) just said to me he couldn’t follow his patient and when I asked him who his patient was, and when I found out it was Ruth, I told him he needed to look for her immediately.”
Acheampong was asked to join the psychiatric intensive care unit on February 12 because the ward was so short-staffed nurses could not go on breaks, the inquest at Buckinghamshire Coroner’s Court was previously told.
Ms Hancey further told jurors that, on the morning of February 12, she had become “upset and emotional” because of the insufficient staffing on Thames ward.
“I have raised (staffing issues) several times before this event,” Ms Hancey said, adding a lot of staff had fallen sick during that period because of exhaustion.
“There was an agreement that I should have a certain amount of staff on the ward. We had very difficult patients and they kept going off.”
Ruth had been placed on the “level three observation” plan following earlier incidents of self-harm – meaning she had to be kept within eyesight at all times on the ward.
Tim Moloney KC, who represents the family, told the hearing: “What Ruth did on the 12th of February was not out of the blue. Those who worked on the ward knew that Ruth would take an opportunity (to self-harm) if it was presented to her.”
Ms Hancey filed a risk management form known as a “Datix incident” on February 12 2022, in which she raised concerns that staff on Thames ward would “fail to monitor patients on prescribed special observation because of staff shortage”, Mr Moloney said.
The inquest previously heard Acheampong never returned to work at the hospital following the incident and fled the UK for Ghana.
A police investigation later found he had been using false identity documents and was hired by the Platinum agency – which supplied staff for Huntercombe Hospital – under a false name.
Active Care Group, which owned Huntercombe at the time of Ruth’s death, has since closed the facility.
The inquest continues.