Unlawful killing of girl in Taplow shows young people ‘not getting care they need’, Government says

Young people ‘have not been getting the care they need’, a Government spokesperson has said after a teenager was found to have been unlawfully killed at a Taplow mental health hospital.

Ruth Szymankiewicz, 14, died following an act of self-harm while she was supposed to be under constant watch at Huntercombe Hospital, also known as Taplow Manor, in February 2022.

Ruth’s death was ruled an unlawful killing, as a damning verdict on the poor standards of her care at the now-closed hospital was delivered by an inquest jury on Thursday (August 14).

A Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokesperson said: “This is a shocking case and it is clear that care at the Huntercombe Hospital fell far below the standards we expect.

 “Young people with mental health issues have not been getting the care they need where they need it.”

Ruth Szymankiewicz was described as the 'kind of daughter you only hope for' by her father.

In a statement after the ruling, Ruth’s parents Kate and Mark Szymankiewicz, both doctors, said Ruth had been the victim of ‘systemic failures’ by healthcare services.

They told the inquest they were worried about sending Ruth to Huntercombe Hospital, as it was far from their home in Salisbury and had been rated ‘inadequate’ by care industry regulator the Care Quality Commission.

In their statement, Ruth’s parents questioned the role of the CQC following the ruling on Huntercombe Hospital.

“Despite all the warnings, nothing meaningfully changed at Huntercombe; leaving it unsafe and unfit for purpose,” they said.

Staff at the hospital had also feared it was the wrong place for Ruth, the inquest heard. However, they were unable to transfer her.

Ruth was able to perform a fatal act of self-harm when left alone by an agency hospital worker late on February 12. He was using a stolen identity and fled to Ghana in the days after her death.

Failings at Huntercombe Hospital, identified at the inquest, included improper training for agency staff, problems with accessing proper therapy and communication with Ruth’s parents.

Ruth’s parents said: “Having been detained in a unit she should never have been sent to, Ruth was repeatedly denied access to the love and support of her family.

“We were excluded and completely disempowered. She was isolated, scared and alone.

“However this is framed, it is fundamentally wrong and needs to change.”

Huntercombe Hospital (pictured) closed in 2023 after a series of critical CQC inspections. 

They said: “What happened to Ruth is shocking, tragic and harrowing.

“Whilst there is much more to be said, if change can come from her story, it can make a tangible difference to others. “

The DHSC spokesperson said: “Our deepest sympathies are with Ruth’s family and friends.

The spokesperson added: “We’ve instructed the NHS to prioritise increasing the availability of mental health beds, and we are investing £75 million this year to reduce inappropriate out-of-area placements so that patients can receive care closer to home.”

A CQC spokesperson said: “Our condolences remain with the family of Ruth Szymankiewicz.

“Following her tragic death in February 2022, we undertook a number of inspections of Taplow Manor and increased our monitoring of the provider.

“In March 2022, we issued warning notices to the service provider, which required urgent action.

“While we saw some improvements in response to these warning notices, we were not satisfied that young people were being kept safe and so we placed the service in special measures, which involved further increasing our monitoring.

“After we rated them as Inadequate following an inspection in December 2022, Active Care Group made the decision to stop providing CAMHS [child and adult mental health services] care at Taplow Manor and later fully closed the site.

“Although the site is no longer operational, we continue to monitor the safety and quality of services at the provider’s other locations and across mental health services for children and young people.

“Everyone deserves to receive high-quality care and where we find that this is not the case we take action, including using our enforcement powers.”

A spokesperson for Active Care Group said, ‘we deeply regret the tragic event that occurred, and we are truly sorry for the distress this has caused’.

The spokesperson said the company had made ‘significant improvements’ to its services and was ‘dedicated to learning further lessons’ to prevent ‘any future traffic incidents’.