Poor quality care plans 'may have contributed' to harm of Emily Moore, court hears

A mental health nurse has told a court that inadequate care plans may have contributed to the harm of an 18-year-old who took her own life in hospital.

Emily Moore, from Shildon in County Durham, was a patient at Lanchester Road Hospital, near Durham when she died in February 2020.

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys (TEWV) NHS Foundation Trust is being prosecuted by health regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC) over alleged failings in her care.

The trust denies the charges.

During a hearing at Teesside Magistrates' Court, a judge was told Emily was being checked on every 15 minutes and she had spent the morning of 13 February 2020 in a craft workshop.

Emily, who had been at the hospital for eight days and had a history of self-harming, returned to her room in the afternoon and was last seen by staff sitting on her bed on her phone. She told them she was on the social media site Instagram.

The alarm was raised 15 minutes later after Emily was found unresponsive on the bathroom floor in her room. She died in hospital two days later.

The CQC allege the TEWV trust failed to provide safe care and treatment to Emily - resulting in her taking her own life.

Expert witnesses gave evidence during Tuesday's (27 February) hearing.

Tim McDougall, a mental health nurse independent to the trust, said it was his opinion that care plans for Emily were of poor quality.

He told the court: “In my opinion elements of care provided to Emily were unsafe.

"The quality of the intervention and safety plan lacked guidance to keep Emily safe. I am not able to say they caused harm to Emily but they may have contributed."

The trust disputed this.

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Independent psychiatrist Dr Francesca Denman was called as a witness for the defence and asked to review Emily’s care plan.

She told the court it was her opinion it was safe. She said: “There was a plan and I can see the plan was delivered.”

When questioned by the trust's defence barrister, she said the nature and scale of the risk was understood when Emily arrived on the ward.

The trust told the judge that it acknowledges Emily's care plan was not gold standard and there were shortcomings - but it was fit for purpose.

TEWV have never been prosecuted before. They are charged with three breaches of the Health and Social Care Act.

One relates to Emily Moore, which is denied and is the reason the trust is on trial. The trust has pleaded guilty to the other two charges. The trust will be sentenced next month for those.

One of the other charges relates to the death of 17-year-old Christie Harnett, who took her own life at West Lane Hospital, in Middlesbrough, in 2019. The other relates to the death of a woman who died at Roseberry Park, in Middlesbrough, in 2020 and whose identity is being protected by the court.

The trial continues.

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