Professionals who cared for Sue Robdale told a jury on the first day of an investigation yesterday that they did not consult patients when they had to be moved at short notice from one ward to another at the Redwoods Center in Shrewsbury.
The family of Miss Robdale, 60, an occupational therapist from Kenwood Road in Copthorne, Shrewsbury, said the consequences for her were devastating because being moved from the adult Birch ward to the over-65 Holly ward played on their fears. darker. She ran away from the center and probably by stepping on a flower pot to jump a fence. Her body was found three-quarters of a mile away in a pond by a couple walking on October 10, 2021.
“I had a permanent fear of dying alone in an insane ward,” said Richard Smith, a partner at Miss Robdale. She met her friend at Cambridge University in 1983 and her friendship lasted throughout her life, even when she married, she had two children and then divorced. They got together in 2006, after the divorce, the inquest at the old Crown Court in Shrewsbury heard on Monday.
Smith said that her partner had suffered physical and sexual abuse in their childhood, but that they had a comfortable life. Her mental health problems began after a difficult operation and treatment that “returned to the abuse” she had suffered. Her behavior became more difficult.
Coroner John Ellery was told that he attempted suicide in June 2021 and that his anxieties became “worse and worse”, and he lost his joy in life.
After undergoing surgery following her self-harm incident, she was first admitted to Redwoods. She was then transferred to Oak Paddock, which is a house in the community that is supported by the mental health service.
But he left Oak Paddock because he was worried he wouldn’t get proper treatment and went to a Premier Inn. She wanted Electro Convulsive Therapy because a friend had successful treatment.
Miss Robdale was subsequently restrained in Shrewsbury’s Darwin Shopping Center by threatening to harm herself.
At that time, she was readmitted to Redwoods on October 1. On October 8, she told Miss Robdale that she was to be moved to the Holly Pavilion in the Bicton Heath complex. She had settled down and started making friends.
But the investigation was told the mental health system was under pressure at the time and on October 8, bed managers told a committee of professionals to move someone to Holly Ward. They had an urgent need to find a bed for a children’s emergency case and Miss Robdale was identified as the best candidate.
The jury heard that the committee met to make its decision at 2:00 pm, but Miss Robdale was not informed until 4:30 pm and could not comment on the decision.
Rebecca Williams, a sister on the 16-bed Birch ward, said: “We had to move someone, and that patient would have to move. Patients are informed after a decision is made.”
And under cross-examination from Mr. Smith, she said that she didn’t know about Ms. Robdale’s fears or that she was autistic, or that she was distressed about food.
Since Miss Robdale’s death, the Midlands Foundation Partnership Trust has made changes to the way it transfers patients from one ward to another and to increase observations of them. The height of a garden wall he is believed to have exited through has also been increased.
The jury was also told that Holly’s room did not have CCTV.
Dr. Rahul Chandravarkar, Miss Robdale’s consulting psychiatrist in Redwoods, said he had formed a plan with her and was scheduled to meet with her on October 12 to discuss it. The unit has 48 beds for the mental health needs of all of Shropshire, he said. He told the investigation that they had “started to take a hit” after covid.
He had not been involved in the decision. “It would be good practice to discuss it with the consultant, but it wasn’t policy,” he said.
“Normally she would have stayed in the room for 28 days, but unfortunately it didn’t turn out that way and I’m sorry,” he said.
He added that there was “a lot of learning” but that he did not know “when the policy will be updated.”
Dr. Neil Jones, a consultant psychologist at Redwoods, said he had been involved in the decision to move Miss Robdale, but said he “didn’t recall” the subject of his fears being raised at that meeting.
He was asked if the patients were ever consulted. She said “rarely”.
He added that “there was no standard process”, but added that “it would be positive if there was a transition”.
