Removing patient risks on wards not simple - court

An expert psychiatrist has said it was not "straightforward" to remove plastic bin liners from a mental health hospital ward where a young woman took her own life, a court has heard.

Alice Figueiredo, 22, was being treated on the Hepworth Ward at Goodmayes Hospital in Ilford, east London, where she died in July 2015.

The court had previously heard she had tried to harm herself 18 times with bin bags found on the ward.

The ward manager of the unit, 55-year-old Benjamin Aninakwa, is accused of gross negligence and manslaughter. The North East London NHS Trust (NELFT) is accused of corporate manslaughter. Both deny the charges against them.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Bradley Hillier told the Old Bailey he had analysed all records of Alice's care during her admission and looked at the role of the ward manager.

"Ward managers are not really responsible for unilateral decisions. The ward isn't the personal kingdom of the ward manager.

"Removing bin bags might seem like common sense but it is not simple."

Earlier in the trial, a former health care assistant on the ward said the risks remained on the ward even after Alice's death.

Dr Hillier says this proves that it wasn't a simple decision.

"Bin bags were not immediately removed from the ward after Alice's death. If it was so easy to just remove them from the ward, that would've been done straight away.

"Lots of things need to be considered carefully before doing this, like infection control."

The trial continues.

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