Girl who died in hospital ‘should have been watched at all times’, inquest hears

Ruth Szymankiewicz died at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford on February 14 2022 while she was a patient at Huntercombe Hospital – also known as Taplow Manor – in Berkshire (Bhatt Murphy Solicitors/PA) -

A teenager who died after an agency worker with false identity papers left her unsupervised at a children’s mental health hospital should have been kept within eyesight at all times, an inquest has heard.

Ruth Szymankiewicz was being treated for an eating disorder at Huntercombe Hospital in Berkshire and had been placed under strict one-to-one observation when on February 12 2022 she was able to shut herself in her bedroom alone for 15 minutes, a jury inquest held at Buckinghamshire Coroner’s Court heard on Tuesday.