Priory healthcare group fined £650,000 over death of patient

The Priory healthcare group has been fined more than £650,000 over the death of a 23-year-old patient who was hit by a train after absconding from a mental health hospital.

Matthew Caseby, a personal trainer, was able to leave Birmingham’s Priory hospital Woodbourne by scaling a wall after being “inappropriately unattended” for several minutes in September 2020, an inquest jury ruled in 2022.

The healthcare company pleaded guilty to a criminal safety failing linked to the death of a patient, breaching the 2008 Health and Social Care Act, at Birmingham magistrates court on Friday.

Priory’s barrister, Paul Greaney KC, entered the guilty plea on behalf of the company. A second charge under the same law was withdrawn.

With costs, Priory faces a total bill of £693,852.

The London-based provider was charged after an investigation into the death of Caseby conducted by the Care Quality Commission.

The 23-year-old University of Birmingham graduate was detained at the hospital under the Mental Health Act after being seen running on railway tracks near Oxford five days before his death.

He climbed over the 2.3-metre (7ft 6in) fence after being left alone in a courtyard.

Caseby’s father, Richard Caseby, who had been campaigning for a prosecution of the healthcare organisation, told the court the company attempted to “evade accountability for its gross failures”.

In a victim impact statement which he presented as part of the prosecution on Friday, he said: “I found it unbelievable that a private company commissioned by the NHS to care for its most vulnerable psychiatric patients in the greatest crisis of their lives could be so cruel and resort to such desperate tactics to hide the truth.”

After sentencing, Richard Caseby said: “My family is relieved that the Priory has finally been held to account for its criminal neglect. However, the prosecution over Matthew’s death brings no real satisfaction because, of course, nothing can bring our son back … [and] the same fatal mistakes are made again and again.

“The Priory was prosecuted and fined £300,000 for the death of Amy El-Keria; it was fined £140,000 for the death of Francesca Whyatt and today it was fined £650,000 over the death of Matthew.

“This roll call of death and neglect will continue until the government stops the NHS outsourcing mental health services to the Priory.”

During Friday’s court sitting, the defence lawyer said the company had pleaded guilty on the basis that it had exposed service users to a risk of avoidable harm by not carrying out a full review of three previous abscondments from the ward, not all of which took place over the same fence.

After the verdict, the Birmingham and Solihull senior coroner, Louise Hunt, urged health officials to consider imposing minimum standards for perimeter fences at acute mental health units.

A Priory spokesperson said: “We would like to repeat how deeply sorry we are to Matthew’s family and once again apologise unreservedly for the shortcomings in the care provided to Matthew in 2020.

“We take our responsibilities extremely seriously and have implemented all the recommendations identified during the investigation process and the inquest into Matthew’s death. These include raising the height of the courtyard fencing at Woodbourne hospital to 3.2 metres. There are no national standards for fence heights in adult acute mental health services as provided at Woodbourne, but we have now installed 3.2-metre fencing in 15 of our facilities across 24 wards.

“We cooperated fully and transparently with the CQC’s investigation, recognising the shortcomings in care and entering a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity. We have cared for over 100,000 people in the last five years and remain committed to balancing the need to keep patients safe, with the need for patients to receive the least restrictive care in therapeutic environments which promote their recovery.”

• In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978