Trust ordered to produce report after deaths of three patients at Prestwich Hospital

A new report is to be produced into the deaths of three young people at the same mental health unit.

Rowan Thompson, 18, died at the Prestwich Mental Health Unit, Bury, in October 2020, followed by Charlie Millers, 17, in December that year, and Ania Sohail, 21, in June last year.

Now the hospital's trust, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, is to commission an 'external report' to which NHS England will have input in deciding its terms of reference.

The plan has been criticised by Charlie's mother, Samantha Millers, and Rowan's father, Marc Thompson, who have called for NHS England to conduct its own investigation.

The grieving parents, who say observation practices at Prestwich need to be improved, do not accept NHS England and the hospital trust's assurances that the report will be 'independent'.

Observations are checks by staff on in-patients to confirm their safety, carried out continuously or at specific intervals, such as every five, 10 or 15 minutes.

Charlie Millers, who had a history of self-harm and receiving in-patient treatment, was found unresponsive in his room in the Junction 17 wing of Prestwich Hospital on December 2, 2020. He was given CPR at the scene and taken to Salford Royal Hospital but died five days later.

A Serious Incident Review done by the trust said that Charlie was seen with ligatures around his neck three times in the hours before he was found unresponsive with a ligature around his neck.

The review says he was alone at the time when he was found unresponsive in his room.

Charlie's mother told the M.E.N that she was told her son was being checked on once every five minutes at the time he was fatally injured. She believes he should not have been left alone at all at the