Bosses cannot check workers on a Prestwich mental health unit are carrying out observations using CCTV, despite five staff failing to do so correctly the day a teenager died, an inquest has heard. Rowan Thompson died aged 18 on October 3, 2020.
The teenager, who identified as non-binary and used the pronoun 'them', was an inpatient on the Gardener Unit, run by Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH), on the site commonly known as Prestwich Hospital. Rowan's inquest previously heard they were supposed to be observed every 15 minutes, but staff did not check on them for 90 minutes before they were found having a seizure.
At Rochdale Coroners' Court this morning (Thursday, October 27), the inquest heard that five members of staff working on-site that day had either wrongly signed records of observation or failed to carry out the duty. Rachel Green, head of operations for children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) for GMMH at the time, told jurors she was working in an adjacent building to the Gardener Unit on the day of Rowan's death.
