Investigation and inquest
On 28 January 2020 an investigation was commenced into the death of ANTHONY JAMES FITZPATRICK (dob 16 May 1987). The investigation concluded at the end of the inquest on 8 November 2021.
The conclusion of the inquest was ████████.
The medical cause of death was:
████████
Circumstances of the death
(1) Anthony Fitzpatrick (AF) had a long history of mental health problems and presented at local A&E departments, with ████████, on 3 occasions in the 12 months prior to his death. On the latter two occasions, in November 2019 and January 2020 he was later taken into custody, at Swinton and Cheadle Custody Suites respectively.
(2) Following assessment by the Custody Sergeant AF was seen by a Health Care Professional (HCP, employed by Mitie), who recorded the risk of ████████ in the electronic custody record, using a drop down menu.
Coroner’s concerns
(1) During the course of the evidence, it became apparent that the HCPs were not using objective and/or consistent criteria to assess the risk of ████████, meaning that (a) the grade of risk assigned to AF was inconsistent and/or inaccurate and (b) no one else knew what was meant by the grade of risk recorded in the electronic custody record.
(2) Further, none of the HPCs who gave evidence used the criteria described in the online training materials.
(3) Despite being aware of this problem, there was no plan in place to address it.