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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Mathilde Grandjean

Hospital worker tears up as she recalls death of girl, 14, left alone on ward

Ruth Szymankiewicz Ebo Acheampong Huntercombe Huntercombe Hospital Mental Health
Ruth Szymankiewicz, 14, 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 care worker at a children’s mental health hospital broke down in tears during an inquest hearing as she recalled the moment she realised a suicidal teenage girl who should have been watched at all times had been left alone.

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, an inexperienced agency worker left her on her own.

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