Mental health patient may not have died if assessment had been done

THERE WAS AN 'OVERSIGHT' OF BLOOD CLOT RISK, INQUEST HEARS

- By JOSEPH CONNOLLY Local democracy reporter

A YOUNG woman probably “would not have died” if correct risk assessments had been made by mental health teams, an inquest has heard.

Sophie Towle collapsed in cardiac arrest while she was a patient at Sherwood Oaks mental health hospital as a result of a blood clot in her lung on May 27, 2024, aged just 22.

Two weeks earlier, in a form of self-harm, she had inserted a pen into a preexisting open wound on her left leg and went to hospital three times following the incident.

But ultimately she was not assessed as being in danger of developing a blood clot, despite factors that should have rung alarm bells that she was a high-risk patient, intensive care doctor Jasmeet Soar told the inquest at Nottingham Coroners Court.

The lack of this assessment “more than minimally” contributed to her death, Dr Soar said during the first day of proceedings at Nottingham Council House on Monday.