Blackpool hospital's care failings contributed to man's death

Bren McFarlane died less than 24 hours after being admitted to a mental health unit

A mother has spoken of her "utter devastation" after a jury found failings in care on a mental health unit "contributed" to her son's death.

Bren McFarlane, 20, died less than 24 hours after being admitted to The Harbour mental health hospital in Blackpool on 25 October 2022.

An inquest found he died as a result of a brain injury caused by misadventure.

During the hearing the hospital trust admitted failing to provide "basic medical attention".

The inquest, at Blackpool Town Hall, heard that Bren, who lived in Accrington, was a vulnerable man with a history of self-harm.

The court heard Mr McFarlane was admitted to the hospital on 24 October after he began suffering from psychosis, and should have been under constant observation.

Jurors were shown CCTV footage of staff doing each other's hair while they should have been carrying out their duties.

Mr McFarlane was later found unresponsive in a bathroom and died in hospital four days later from a brain injury.

The jury concluded that "on the balance of probabilities, the care delivery more than minimally contributed to Bren's death".

They also concluded that "staff did not exhibit professional standards of behaviour".

Bren's mother Gail Rawlinson spoke after her son's inquest

Speaking after the inquest, Mr McFarlane's mother Gail Rawlinson said: "As a family we are utterly devastated at the findings and at the loss of our precious, beautiful, kind, bold hero of a boy.

"There was no proper review of Bren, meaning he was not properly observed. The actions of the staff and the general environment did not protect my son like he should have been."

She said "no family should go through anything like this again."

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Chris Oliver said his "thoughts remain with Bren's family and friends".

He added: "Following Bren's death, we undertook a comprehensive investigation which identified failings in the delivery of our care.

"These included environmental and estate issues and the conduct of staff behaviour, which fell below the professional standards we expect and that the vast majority of our colleagues display every day.

"We have enacted all recommendations from our investigation report and have provided an update to the family, through the inquest process, of the actions taken."

Mr Oliver said the trust "fully accept the findings of the coroner" and would "continue our commitment to being open and transparent where improvements can be made".

Coroner Alan Wilson said of the trust that he was "content it has done and is doing something to mitigate this happening again in the future".

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