For Immediate Release Date: December 16, 2014
For immediate release Date: December 16, 2014
Statement from Mersey Care NHS Trust
Following the release of the independent report into the care and treatment provided to Leslie Gadsby, originally commissioned by NHS North West Strategic Health Authority and now published by NHS England, Mersey Care NHS Trust would like to issue the following statement:
Dr David Fearnley, Medical Director of Mersey Care NHS Trust, said: “On behalf of the Trust I would, once again, like to express our condolences to the Gadsby family. This was a tragic event that will live with them forever and everyone involved with in this case is devastated at the impact it will have on loved ones and friends.
“We welcome the publication of this report and its thorough investigation into the care and treatment provided to Mr Gadsby. We are committed to ensuring the care we give patients and their families is the safest it can possibly be.
“To that end, we have already taken action towards implementing the recommendations from the report.”
End
Editor’s notes:
Background to the case:
Leslie Gadsby pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his mother due to diminished responsibility on March 28, 2011 at Liverpool Crown Court and was returned to Ashworth Hospital. He was given a minimum term of 20 years for manslaughter before he is eligible for parole.
After being arrested in March, 2010 he was sent to Scott Clinic, part of the Mersey Forensic Psychiatry Service which is managed by Mersey Care NHS Trust, as he had been its patient since 2004. While there his condition was found to have deteriorated so the high secure service provided at Ashworth Hospital was deemed more suitable and he was transferred there to await trial.
Mr Gadsby had previously been found guilty of manslaughter of his father on the grounds of diminished responsibility in 2004 and referred by the court to Scott Clinic. He responded well to treatment and care and there were no indications of further violent behaviour.
As a result a Mental Health Review Tribunal granted him a conditional discharge to 24-hours supervised living accommodation. This was accompanied by a detailed plan which included a ban on going within 200 metres of his mother’s home, an order to notify staff of any meetings with his mother, the possibility of recall at any time by the Ministry of Justice and a series of stringent conditions governing his continued medical treatment and living arrangements.
Nearly three years later he was considered to be making sufficiently good progress to move into a self-contained flat which, although it had staff living in the building, did not have the 24 hours supervision of his previous accommodation.
An internal and external review into the case has been conducted and recommendations have been implemented. The care and treatment of Mr Gadsby has been reviewed externally by an agency commissioned by the Strategic Health Authority.
What is Mersey Care NHS Trust?
It provides specialist inpatient and community mental health, learning disability and addiction services for adults in Liverpool, Sefton and Kirkby. It has a wider role too, providing medium secure services for Merseyside and Cheshire, and high secure services covering the North West of England, the West Midlands and Wales.
Fact File
From 2013 to 14 Mersey Care offered:
- Care, treatment and support to 36,401 service users (35,525 in local services and 876 in secure services)
- Is dispersed across over 32 sites both of its own and premises rented from others
- Had 674 inpatient beds (as of 31 March 2014)
- Had 522,757 outpatient attendances and contacts.
For further information contact: Communications Department, Mersey Care NHS Trust, V7 Building, Kings Business Park, Prescot, Merseyside, L34 1PJ.
Tel: 0151 471 2336.