Northgate Hospital: Staff falsified records night man died, inquest hears

An inquest heard that falsifying observation logs was "standard procedure" on wards at Northgate Hospital

Staff at a mental health trust falsified records that they had checked on a vulnerable patient the night he died, an inquest has heard.

Eliot Harris was found dead in his room at Northgate Hospital in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, in April 2020.

A police witness statement detailed how CCTV footage contradicted 19 log entries.

The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, has been approached for comment.

Mr Harris, 48, was admitted to hospital after the care home where he was a resident requested an urgent mental health assessment, an inquest into his death at Norfolk Coroner's Court heard.

He had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, had a history of epileptic seizures and had not been taking his medication.

Mr Harris was deemed to be high risk and was supposed to be on regular checks four times an hour.

'Falsified logs'

In a witness statement read out in court, Det Sgt Nick Appleton described how police had cross referenced logs of his observations with CCTV recordings.

Det Sgt Appleton listed 19 instances in which the observation record was signed by a staff member that night, indicating Mr Harris had been checked, but was not backed up by the CCTV record.

He identified a number of "points of concern" in his evidence in which falsifying logs was "normal" and "standard practice" on wards.

These discrepancies were found to have taken place between 17:35 BST and 00:00 on the night in question.

"It came to light the required checks had not been completed," Det Sgt Appleton said. "Staff recorded checks but CCTV showed they had not."

Mr Harris was discovered unresponsive in his bed at approximately 01:30 and was pronounced dead half an hour later.

Earlier the inquest had been told that on the evening Mr Harris died, the ward was short staffed due to sickness and Covid.

The court heard that members of the community and crisis team had been drafted in to assist colleagues on the ward.

The inquest, which is being held before a jury, is expected to continue for the rest of the week.