NHS trust fined £200k over vulnerable girl's death

An NHS trust has been fined £200,000 for failing to provide "safe care and treatment" for a 16-year-old girl who died on hospital grounds after fleeing her ward.

Ellame Ford-Dunn, from Upper Beeding, West Sussex, died at Worthing Hospital in March 2022 where she had been admitted as a mental health inpatient.

She ran into the grounds of the hospital and was not immediately followed by a nurse because of "confusion" and a lack of appropriate procedure in place, the court heard.

Last month, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust (UHST) pleaded guilty to failing to provide safe care and treatment to Ellame which exposed her to a significant risk of "avoidable harm".

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Source: BBC News, 26 November 2025.