Bury St Edmunds mental health unit 'failed' man who took own life

The father of a man who took his own life said the mental health unit where he was staying "failed him completely".

Joshua Sahota, 25, died at the Wedgwood Unit in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on 9 September 2019.

Insufficient staffing levels contributed to his death, an inquest jury found, and his father Malk Sahota said "Josh should still be here".

The NHS trust that runs the unit said it had improved processes following Mr Sahota's "tragic death".

Mr Sahota, from Kennett in Cambridgeshire, was taken to the Wedgwood Unit three weeks before his death as his mental health had declined.

There was no psychologist in post and the jury at Suffolk Coroner's Court recorded this as having contributed to his death.

It also found that a plastic bag which contributed to his death was on a restricted items list, but this was "unclear" and there were "inconsistencies of understanding this" by staff and visitors.

Other factors that the jury said contributed to his death included insufficient observations and one-to-one processes, no clear and concise risk assessments, being slow to develop a care plan and the absence of a documented crisis plan.

The IT programmer's father, Malk Sahota, said he was "so angry and frustrated" at the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), which provides mental health services across the two counties.

"Josh should still be here," he said. "They failed him completely.

"They ignored him while he was there, nobody talked to him and there was no psychologist there to talk to him."

Senior Coroner for Suffolk Nigel Parsley said he would issue a Prevention of Future Deaths Report following the inquest's narrative conclusion.

Stuart Richardson, NSFT chief executive, said: "I am deeply sorry for Joshua's death and I am keen to support his family in any way I can.

"I want to assure Joshua's family that we have improved our internal processes following his tragic death, including making sure there is regular, meaningful, one-to-one time with psychology team members to reduce the chances of this happening to anyone else."

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