Investigation and inquest
On 04/09/2018 I commenced an investigation into the death of Stephen Keith Harte. The investigation concluded at the end of an Inquest with a jury on 13th February 2019. The jury’s conclusion was the death was Drug Related.
Circumstances of the death
At 4.33hrs on 18/08/18 Stephen Harte was found unresponsive in his room at the Tamarind Centre (a medium secure mental health unit). Despite emergency medical treatment he could not be resuscitated, and he was pronounced deceased at the scene. A post-mortem blood test revealed he had taken a recognised fatal dose of heroin. Mr Harte had a long history of illicit drug use but appeared to have been abstinent since 2016.
Following a post mortem the medical cause of death was determined to be: 1a. Heroin toxicity.
Coroner’s concerns
1) I heard evidence about the potential routes for drugs to enter the medium secure unit. This included:
(a) Residents are allowed unsupervised telephone calls to order food from external ‘takeaways’ of their choice and the food is not searched upon arrival. Historically, residents were only allowed to order from an approved list of ‘takeaways’. However, following a Care Quality Commission inspection the CQC deemed this was too restrictive and asked that the unit relax its rules. The evidence was unclear whether the CQC had similarly asked other units to relax their rules.
(b) Those residents allowed unsupervised leave are not typically searched upon their return. They walk thought a scanner, but this is unlikely to reveal small quantities of drugs on their person.
2) The author of Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation NHS Trust’s Root Cause Analysis report gave evidence that in his opinion these two routes were the most likely mechanism by which Stephen Harte obtained the drugs that killed him, and that the rules around ‘takeaways’ needed revisiting.
3) I also heard evidence that staff are not typically searched upon entering the unit. They also walk thought the scanner, but this is unlikely to reveal small quantities of drugs on their person. Further, whilst they are required to leave personal belongings in lockers, they are allowed to take their own food on to the unit which is also not searched.
4) My ongoing concern is that drugs can too easily enter the unit.