Ben Nelson-Roux: Vulnerable boy's basic needs 'not met by NHS'

Ben Nelson-Roux's body was discovered by his mother at a homeless hostel in Harrogate in April 2020

A vulnerable teenager did not have his basic needs met by the NHS, an inquest into his death has been told.

Ben Nelson-Roux's body was discovered by his mother at a homeless hostel in Harrogate in April 2020.

The 16-year-old was a drug user and was exploited by county lines drug dealers, Northallerton Coroner's Court heard.

Dr Giovanni Cerulli, who was called when Ben was taken to hospital after taking drugs, said he expected to be contacted again but "no-one called me".

Dr Cerulli, who works as a senior mental health consultant at Tees Esk And Wear Valley NHS Trust (TEWV), said he was called two days before Ben's death.

He said he was told Ben had taken 29 diazepam tablets and 290mg of crack cocaine.

Dr Cerulli said he called the Harrogate child and mental health services team and expected to be further contacted about Ben but "no-one called me or asked my opinion about anything".

He added: "His basic needs were not being met and that should have alerted us to an issue."

The inquest in Northallerton is expected to last two weeks

Tom Hurst, general manager for the urgent care service at TEWV, told the inquest a review was carried out into Ben's care.

It found there were inconsistent appointments and limited documented evidence of a complex care plan.

He said actions had been taken since, including that at initial assessments young people are now offered information on advocacy services and complex cases should not be led solely by a part-time member of staff.

The inquest had previously heard that in December 2019 - four months before Ben was found dead at the adult hostel in Harrogate - he had been highlighted by police as being at "high risk" of exploitation.

He was arrested on suspicion of selling cocaine. It was his first "job" for a gang who had told him to bring drugs back from Scarborough to York, the court was told.

The inquest continues.