Radical shake-up call after mother burned herself to death within hours of leaving mental health unit
A mother with suicidal thoughts was allowed to walk out of a mental health unit before burning herself to death less than two hours later - prompting her daughter to call for radical changes.
Angela Rich repeatedly told staff at the George Bryan Centre in Tamworth she had suicidal thoughts and had self-harmed during her stay at the unit.
But the 61-year-old was allowed to leave the centre on August 27 in 2013. Just an hour-an-half later, she was found on fire under a railway bridge by a dog walker.
She was airlifted to Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital but had suffered extensive burns across her entire body and died later that day from her severe injuries.
A Serious Incident Report was conducted by South Staffordshire & Shropshire Healthcare NHS Foundation, which runs the centre, in the wake of the death.
The trust has also given an undisclosed settlement to her Ms Rich's daughter, Dr Naomi Rich, aged 43, from Lichfield.
The trust admitted further steps should have been taken to assess Ms Rich before her discharge and said they did not properly document the risk assessment when allowing her to leave unescorted.
It also admitted if they had taken further intervention, her death on that day may have been preventable.
Dr Rich has demanded better care for mental health patients.
She said: "As a doctor myself, a carer for my mother and also as a patient at the same mental health trust as my mother, I have seen psychiatric care from several angles and have witnessed appalling care which I believe needs to change radically from within the NHS.
"The care my mother received at South Staffordshire and Shropshire NHS Foundation Trust was well below par and she should never have been able to leave the facility on the day she died as she had repeatedly expressed suicidal thoughts and tried to harm herself."
She said she had been left devastated by the loss of her mother.
She added: "I feel that she was woefully let down by the people who cared for her and I hope that by speaking out about her death I will be able to raise awareness about the issues in mental health services in this country and that it will be finally addressed by the NHS to ensure that all patients received the care and support they need."
In September 2013, a report by the Care Quality Commission found staff at the George Bryan Centre were failing to care for patients safely and to protect them from abuse.
In a statement, South Staffordshire and Shropshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said it was a 'tragic set of circumstances' and the circumstances were fully investigated which resulted in improvements being made.
