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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Thomas George

Review into deaths of three young people at Prestwich Hospital will be 'ready' this month

An independent review into the deaths of three young people at the same mental health unit will be 'ready' this month, an inquest has heard. Rowan Thompson, 18, died while a patient at Prestwich Hospital, Bury, in October 2020, followed by Charlie Millers, 17, in December that year, and Ania Sohail, 21, in June last year.

Earlier this year, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH), which runs the hospital, commissioned an 'external report' into the deaths. Today (Tuesday), a pre-inquest hearing into the death of Rowan - who used the pronoun 'they' - heard that the full report would be available for the coroner to read 'on or around September 30'.

It will be not be published for external viewing.

Sitting at Rochdale Coroners' Court, senior coroner Joanne Kearsley ordered that a copy of the review - authored by consultant psychiatrist Dr Lisa Rippon - be sent to her by September 24. A full inquest into Rowan's death is due to begin next month.

READ MORE: Mum returns home from holiday to find 'perfect' son, 17, had died

The hearing was also told that a blood test sample processed on October 2, 2020, showed Rowan was suffering from 'severe hyperkalemia' - a condition in which a person has too low a concentration of potassium in their blood. They died the following day.

Ms Kearsley said the inquest would look into Rowan's treatment plan and what advice doctors gave to GMMH regarding emergency treatment. It will also look into the impact of the drug flucloxacillin, which Rowan was given just hours before their death.

Prestwich Hospital (Manchester Evening News)

At a previous hearing, a lawyer representing Rowan's family revealed they had a number of concerns regarding Rowan's treatment while a patient on the Gardener Unit at Prestwich Hospital. They claimed there were 'systemic issues regarding observation of patients on the unit', and that the campaign group Inquest had expressed concerns following a number of deaths, including Rowan's.

The inquest into Rowan's death will be heard by a jury and is due to begin on October 24. A pre-inquest review into the death of Ania Sohail is due to take place on Friday (September 9) while an inquest into the death of Charlie Millers has been scheduled for January.

Gill Green, Chief Nurse at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH), said: “We express our deepest sympathies to the families of, and all who cared for, Rowan, Charlie and Ania. We are fully cooperating with the inquest process. It would be inappropriate for us to comment further until the inquests have concluded.”

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