Care provider charged over death of absconded patient

Matthew Caseby had worked as a personal trainer

A care provider has been charged over the death of a patient who absconded from a mental health hospital.

Matthew Caseby, 23, was able to leave Birmingham's Priory Hospital Woodbourne after being "inappropriately unattended" for several minutes in September 2020, an inquest jury ruled.

Priory Healthcare has now been charged with exposing a patient to a significant risk of avoidable harm.

The provider has declined to comment.

Following the inquest into the personal trainer's death, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) launched an investigation and charged the care provider with two criminal offences under the Health and Safety Act 2008.

Mr Caseby, who lived in London, climbed over the courtyard fence and was fatally hit by a train near Birmingham's University station a day later, on 8 September.

The care provider has been charged with two criminal offences following an investigation by the CQC

He had been detained under the Mental Health Act by Thames Valley Police on 3 September, after reports of a man running on to the railway tracks in a village north of Oxford.

Concluding the inquest, Birmingham and Solihull senior coroner Louise Hunt said she remained concerned at record-keeping quality, how risk assessments were completed and the safety of the fence at the hospital.

The inquest jury, which heard the University of Birmingham graduate should have been under constant observation but was left alone, reached a conclusion that his death "was contributed to by neglect".

The care provider is scheduled to appear before magistrates in the city on 24 November. It could face an unlimited fine if found guilty.