Girl left unwatched by agency worker at psychiatric unit was unlawfully killed, inquest finds

A vulnerable 14-year-old girl was unlawfully killed when an agency support worker failed to keep her under observation at a secure psychiatric unit, an inquest jury has concluded.

The worker, who used a false identity, left Ruth Szymankiewicz alone even though she had complex mental health issues and was judged to need constant watching because she was a suicide risk.

Ruth was able to slip back to her room and harmed herself at the privately run Huntercombe hospital near Maidenhead on 12 February 2022. She died two days later.

During the inquest it emerged that the worker, who went under the stolen identity Ebo Acheampong, had never worked at any hospital before the day he was put in charge of observing Ruth and did not receive an induction before his shift.

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Source: The Guardian, 14 August 2025