Mental health trust told to take action after man's death in Sunderland

The family of a man who died while on leave from a mental health hospital have called for change after a coroner highlighted failings in his care.

Daniel Futers was on family leave from Sunderland’s Hopewood Hospital when he died on 5 April last year.

The 31-year-old, who had a long history of mental health issues and had been diagnosed as suffering from psychosis and schizophrenia, had been admitted to hospital under the Mental Health Act several times between 2014 and 2020.

Following an inquest, coroner Derek Winter issued a prevention of future deaths report after finding there had been a number of failings in his care, including around the recording of information and planning for home leave.

He has written to Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust asking what action it will take to improve patient safety.

During the inquest, Mr Winter said Mr Futers had taken his own life "in part" because of the "complexities" of his condition was not "fully appreciated."

He added: "Appropriate precautions were not in place to prevent him from doing so.”

Calling for lessons to be learned, his mother Dawn Futers, 56, of South Shields, said: “It’s almost impossible to find the words to describe the hurt and pain our family feel following Daniel’s death.

"He was loved by all his family and there’s not a day goes by that we don’t miss him and think about him.

“Daniel was a loving and caring person but had struggled with mental illness over the years. Before his death he initially had seemed better in himself.

“We hoped he had turned a corner and would soon be able to come back permanently to his family and we could try and put the past behind us.

"However, in the build up to his leave and once back home he didn’t seem right. He seemed agitated and anxious and didn’t really know what to do with his time.

“However, each time I called the hospital I was told everything was okay and there wasn’t anything to worry about.”

She added: “What happened to Daniel is something that will stay with us all forever and is something we’ll never get over. The hardest thing to try and come to terms with is that when Daniel needed help the most he was let down.

“It felt like the hospital wasn’t really listening to my concerns despite being Daniel’s mum and knowing him better than anyone.

“By speaking out we hope we can help improve mental health services so other families don’t have to suffer like we are.”

Rajesh Nadkarni, executive medical director and deputy chief executive at CNTW, said: “Our thoughts and sympathies are very much with Daniel’s family and friends at this difficult time.

“The trust takes all patient deaths very seriously and investigates them rigorously to establish if lessons can be learned or services can be improved.

“We will reflect on the family’s comments and look at how we can further improve the care we provide to our patients whilst they are transitioning from hospital back into the community.”

Joe Haley, the medical negligence expert at Irwin Mitchell representing Ms Futers, said: “People under the care of mental health services are some of society’s most vulnerable and it’s vital that the highest standards of patient safety are maintained at all times.

“We join Dawn in calling for lessons to be learned from Daniel’s death and continue to support the family at this distressing time.”

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