Staff had wanted 'risk rating' on mental health ward ramped up to the maximum

FEARS ARE REVEALED AS PART OF TRIBUNAL BROUGHT BY WHISTLE-BLOWER AT HOSPITAL

- By HANNAH RICHARDSON

DOCTORS on a mental health ward during Covid feared catastrophic events were likely to happen due to perceived safety risks, a tribunal has been told.

Beaumont Ward, part of the Bradgate Unit on the Glenfield Hospital site, was used as an admissions ward during the pandemic.

This was despite staff concerns over the number of patients at the start of their recovery, who often have more complex needs, being concentrated in one ward and the increased pressure they said this put on employees.

The risk rating on the ward was raised to 20, of a possible 25, in the weeks after it was set up to take admissions, after staff highlighted their fears over safety, an ongoing tribunal heard.

The 20 rating meant staff believed the risk of a “catastrophe” was “likely’, the court heard.

Employees had also asked Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT), which runs mental health services, to look at raising the rating to 25, which would have indicated a catastrophe was “almost certain”.

However, the trust did not do that.

The issues came to light during a hearing of an employment tribunal brought by former consultant on the ward Dr Mariam Benaris, who is alleging she was mistreated by the trust after she went public with her concerns about patient safety.

The tribunal previously heard claims that failings on the ward during Covid resulted in patient deaths.

In one case, a patient - named as Patient One - was able to abscond from the ward’s garden before committing suicide.

The Mercury understands three patient deaths which occurred around this time are being looked into.