Sleeping staff, patients on the roof – life inside Gloucester’s mental health intensive care unit
When Annie got the call on a Friday afternoon in March this year, she was on her way to pick up her daughter from school.
Her son, in his early twenties, was being discharged, with immediate effect from the mental health unit Wotton Lawn in Gloucester, where he had been sectioned in the psychiatric intensive care unit.
“You are being discharged as homeless,” the staff member said, while Annie listened in.
Annie told them she was recording the call, and pleaded to keep him in, warning that this course of action would be potentially fatal for her son.
She was told he had allegedly assaulted another patient. He denied it.
But for several days leading up to this moment the hospital had warned his mother it was time for him to leave.
The young man, we will call ‘John,’ indicated that he was having suicidal thoughts. His confused response to what was happening was that he wanted “euthanasia”.
Annie warned staff she couldn’t get there to pick him up, but they pressed on with the discharge.
The staff member told John: “We are going to formally discharge you at half past four this afternoon. So, you won’t be a patient on this ward at half past four.
“And if you do refuse to leave you will be trespassing and the police will be removing you.”
After the discharge time had elapsed, Annie called her son again.
Annie’s son survived despite sustaining serious injuries
There was no reply – until eventually a member of the public answered the phone.
A woman told Annie that her son was badly injured and being treated by paramedics having thrown himself off a bridge.
“So, he’d basically been told to get out of the mental hospital and two minutes later, he’s on the tracks,” says Annie. “He just walked out of the door, jumped headfirst off a bridge.
“He smashed his skull, his face, had a brain haemorrhage, smashed his arms and legs and punctured his spleen.”
Incredibly, he survived.
That evening Wotton Lawn staff members left some of John’s belongings outside for Annie to collect.
She says no one spoke to her.
In the weeks leading up to this moment, Annie had already been talking to Sky News because she felt her son was not getting proper treatment or care at Wotton Lawn.
She said despite him being sectioned under the Mental Health Act, he was frequently going missing from the hospital.
She says she was unable to see his care plan and that doctors discouraged her from communicating with them.
She claims one consultant even said he would block her emails, after she told him she wanted to put her concerns in writing.
In that period, we collected the stories of several other families and patients who had recently been in the hospital and their experiences echoed Annie’s.
Heidi Hanks said she pleaded to be readmitted to the hospital
Staff gave tablets to patient despite overdose risk
Heidi Hanks was in Wotton Lawn for a period of eight weeks in late 2022 into 2023.
Her husband John says he had no contact with the hospital while she was in their care.
He said: “I’ve never seen her care plan, never spoken to a doctor. I called the hospital to say, ‘what’s the progress, what’s going on?’
“I never got anything back over the whole time she was there.”
Heidi would go missing from the premises and was once found by a member of the public walking down train tracks.
She says when she returned, no one asked her about what had happened.
Heidi says she too was discharged too soon.
She returned the next day pleading to be readmitted because voices were telling her to take an overdose.
She says despite this, she was told to go home and handed the very tablets she had said she was going to take an overdose with.
She swallowed the pills, just outside the hospital, and her husband collected her and took her to A&E.
Photographs obtained by Sky News show staff asleep
Staff photographed asleep in their chairs
Sky News has obtained photographs of several staff members asleep in their chairs in different parts of the hospital.
These pictures have been taken by patients who say those staff members should have been alert and keeping an eye on the people in their care.
Another patient, who we will call ‘Jamie’, says he wasn’t properly watched and despite supposedly having round-the-clock care, was able to get onto the roof of the hospital and jump off it.
‘I wasn’t in a safe place’
Jamie told Sky News: “I broke both my legs, my wrists, my arm my back and my pelvis.
“I was hearing voices and I should have been in a safe place, where I can’t get out and there are no roofs I could jump off.
“But I wasn’t in a safe place at all.”
He says he was mostly looked after by inexperienced agency or ‘bank’ staff and was isolated from his family.
A Care Quality Commission report on the hospital found the psychiatric intensive care units had a 32% vacancy rate and “high rates of bank and agency staff”.
The service rated overall as ‘good’.
But they also found most relatives “had not been given information or been involved in decisions about their relative”.
All the relatives or carers who spoke to the CQC said “they had not been given the opportunity of providing feedback”.
Nicky Davis says she has been able to access the roof on numerous occasions
One patient ‘able to access hospital roof for years’
Another patient, Nicky Davis, is currently in Wotton Lawn.
She has taken photographs of herself on the roof of the hospital on numerous occasions.
She says she’s been able to access it by the same route “for years” having been in and out of the hospital over a six-year period.
Even when on the hospital’s most secure psychiatric ward for the most at-risk patients, Nicky says she was able to access the roof through a window, and on one occasion attempted suicide.
Nicky says the high use of agency staff means patients don’t form a relationship with their carers but the thing that upsets her most is sleeping staff and claims this is widespread and it’s not just at night, but more often on the afternoon into evening shift.
Nicky Davis, left, with her twin sister Laura
‘I’ve actually seen patients walk out of the hospital’
Her mother Joanna Davis, and stepfather Darren Watts, say the level of care is inadequate.
Joanna said: “I’ve seen staff asleep. I’ve seen staff when she’s been escorted to the hospital fall asleep.
“I’ve seen the chair on the door empty so that patients are able to abscond.
“I’ve actually seen patients walk out of the hospital and Nicky have to say to a member of staff, ‘that patient is not allowed leave’.”
Nicky’s twin sister Laura committed suicide after she stayed at Wotton Lawn.
An inquest at Cheshire’s Coroner’s Court completed in February 2023 found Wotton Lawn failed to pass on crucial information about Laura to another hospital, leading to a fatal mistake.
The inquest states: “The information transferred from Wotton Lawn Hospital to Arbury Court Hospital about Laura was deficient, in that it did not include anything about a recent incident.”
It goes on to describe how she had tried to commit suicide in Wotton Lawn and then used the same method successfully because staff hadn’t realised a particular object posed a risk.
‘People can abscond from the psychiatric hospital’
Joy Higgins, from the local Gloucester charity Suicide Crisis, is a former patient at Wotton Lawn.
She says she has spent months examining inquests which have shown failures at Wotton Lawn and other hospitals and the lessons are not being learned.
“I think in particular, where patients have been able to access harmful items on the ward and that’s something that we have seen at more than one inquest, tragically.
“And so that suggests very strongly that the learning has not been taken from the inquest and that it is simply repeating.
“And what we have seen in inquest after inquest is the frequency with which people can abscond from the psychiatric hospital when they are assessed as being at high risk of suicide.”
She added: “It’s a repeated issue that’s been going on not just for months, but for years, where patients are being able to simply leave.
“It’s a requirement that the exit doors are monitored to prevent patients leaving. But too often there are no staff there.
“And so, for me, it’s a management issue and ultimately a senior management issue. The leadership of the trust.”
Trust admits ‘we do not always get things right’
Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Wotton lawn, said: “We are really disappointed to hear these reports and apologise to anyone who hasn’t had good experience of our care.
“Our hospital at Wotton Lawn is a therapeutic environment and, while two of the wards in the hospital are classed as secure, the majority of general hospital patients are allowed to leave the premises when appropriate and this is managed carefully on a case by case basis.
“Our colleagues work hard, often in very difficult circumstances, to support our patients to recover and be safely discharged every day, and we receive regular positive feedback.
“We know, however, that we do not always get things right.
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“While we cannot respond with specific details, context and facts due to patient confidentiality, we were already aware of the cases detailed and have reviewed them fully.
“We take the allegations of staff sleeping on duty very seriously and will investigate further once full details are shared with us.
“We are constantly reviewing our processes and procedures, and will continue to speak to patients and families about improvements they would like to see within the hospital and improve our services based on their feedback.”
But national charities such as SANE and MIND have expressed growing concerns about the state of mental health services across the UK.
Wotton Lawn seems to be another example where patients are being failed.
:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died aged 41.
In a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Friday, her family said she took her own life in the Perth suburb of Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living for several years.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said.
“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.
“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”
Pic: AP
Police said emergency services received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in Neergabby on Friday night.
“Police and St John Western Australia attended and provided emergency first aid. Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,” a police spokeswoman said.
“The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”
Sexual assault claims
Prince Andrew has denied all claims of wrongdoing. File pic: Reuters
Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.
In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.
‘An incredible champion’
Sigrid McCawley, Ms Giuffre’s attorney, said in a statement that she “was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims”.
“Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring,” she said. “The world has lost an amazing human being today.”
“Rest in peace, my sweet angel,” she added.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Dini von Mueffling, Ms Giuffre’s representative, also said that “Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know”.
“Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” she added. “She adored her children and many animals.
“She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words.
“It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”
Ms Giuffre said at the end of March she had four days to live after a car accident, posting on social media that “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure”. She was discharged from hospital eight days later.
Raised mainly in Florida, she said she was abused by a family friend early in life, which led to her living on the streets at times as a teenager.
She said that in 2000, she met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: US Department of Justice
Ms Giuffre said Maxwell then introduced her to Epstein and hired her as his masseuse, and said she was sex trafficked and sexually abused by him and associates around the world.
‘A survivor’
After meeting her husband in 2002, while taking massage training in Thailand at what she said was Epstein’s behest, she moved to Australia and had a family.
She founded the sex trafficking victims’ advocacy charity SOAR in 2015, and is quoted on its website as saying: “I do this for victims everywhere.
“I am no longer the young and vulnerable girl who could be bullied. I am now a survivor, and nobody can ever take that away from me.”
:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
The Pope’s funeral will take place today at St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.
A pope’s funeral traditionally brings world leaders together, and some have already revealed they are attending.
Watch full coverage of the Pope’s funeral live on Sky News from 8am
Here’s a look at the list.
The Prince of Wales will attend the funeral of Pope Francis on behalf of the King, Kensington Palace has said.
The King was in Rome with Queen Camilla earlier this month, and met the pontiff at the Vatican.
Pope Francis meets King Charles and Queen Camilla during a private audience at the Vatican on 9 April. Pic: Vatican Media/Reuters
The trip came just a week-and-a-half after Buckingham Palace confirmed the King had been taken to hospital following side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.
Number 10 has confirmed the prime minister received an invite and will attend the ceremony.
Speaking on Tuesday, Sir Keir said there had been “an outpouring of grief and love” for the Pope.
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Sky News inside Vatican
He added: “I think it reflects the high esteem in which he was held, not just by millions and millions of Catholics, but by many others, across the world, myself included.”
Donald Trump and Pope Francis meet at the Vatican in 2017. Pic: Reuters
The US president was one of the first to confirm he would be flying to Rome, adding he would be joined by first lady Melania Trump.
Writing on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday, he said: “Melania and I will be going to the funeral of Pope Francis, in Rome. We look forward to being there!”
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Trump: ‘Pope Francis loved the world’
The Pope had been critical of Mr Trump at times during his tenure.
In January, he said it would be a “disgrace” if the president went ahead with his crackdown on immigration, telling an Italian television station: “It would make the migrants, who have nothing, pay the unpaid bill.
“It doesn’t work. You don’t resolve problems this way.”
Zelenskyy shakes hands with the pontiff in May 2023. Pic: Vatican News/AP
The Ukrainian president, who met the Pope three times, is expected to attend, according to officials in Ukraine.
In his tribute, Mr Zelenskyy said his country was grieving the Pope and recalled how he often prayed for peace in Ukraine.
Pope Francis shakes hands with Emmanuel Macron in December 2024. Pic: Reuters
The French president told local reporters he would be going to the funeral.
In his tribute on Monday, Mr Macron said of the Pope: “In this time of war and brutality, he had a sense for the other, for the most fragile.”
Pope Francis and Javier Milei at the G7 summit in Italy last June. Pic: Reuters
The president of Pope Francis’s native Argentina will attend, despite having launched insults at Francis in recent years.
Before taking office in December 2023, the far-right politician called him “an imbecile, the representative of evil on Earth”.
Read more:
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Full order of service
‘Unprecedented’ security operation for funeral
Who could be the next pope?
Mr Milei alluded to their “differences” in his tribute to the late Pope, writing: “It is with profound sorrow that I learned this sad morning that Pope Francis, Jorge Bergoglio, passed away today and is now resting in peace.
“Despite differences that seem minor today, having been able to know him in his goodness and wisdom was a true honour for me.”
Lula da Silva and the Pope at the G7 summit last year. Pic: Vatican Media/Reuters
The Brazilian president and first lady Janja Lula da Silva will be at the funeral, the country’s government announced.
Brazil has also declared a seven-day mourning period for the Pope.
“Humanity is today losing a voice of respect and welcome for others,” the president said in his tribute.
“Pope Francis lived and propagated in his daily life the love, tolerance and solidarity that are the basis of Christian
teachings.”
Pope Francis meets Ursula von der Leyen at the Vatican in 2022. Pic: Vatican Media/Reuters
The EU Commission President confirmed she would be attending after calling Francis a worldwide inspiration.
“He inspired millions, far beyond the Catholic Church, with his humility and love so pure for the less fortunate,” she said in her tribute.
Council President Antonio Costa, Parliament President Roberta Metsola are also expected to attend.
Here are some of the other notable attendees:
• Ireland’s taoiseach Micheal Martin
• Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia
• Albanian president Bajram Begaj
• Angola’s president Joao Lourenco
• Austrian president Alexander Van der Bellen
• Bangladesh’s chief adviser and interim leader Muhammad Yunus
• Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, along with prime minister Bart De Wever
• Canada’s governor general Mary Simon
• Cape Verde president Jose Maria Neves
• Croatia’s president Zoran Milanovic
• Cyprian president Nikos Christodoulides
• Czech Republic’s prime minister Petr Fiala
• Democratic Republic of Congo president Felix Tshisekedi
• Dominican Republic’s president Luis Abinader
• East Timor’s president Jose Ramos-Horta
• Ecuador’s president Daniel Noboa
• Estonia’s president Alar Karis
• Finland’s president Alexander Stubb
• Gabon’s president Brice Oligui Nguema
• German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz
• Greece’s prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis
• Honduras president Xiomara Castro
• Hungary’s president Tamas Sulyok
• Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella and prime minister Giorgia Meloni
• Latvian president Edgars Rinkevics
• Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda
• Moldova’s president Maia Sandu
• Netherlands’ prime minister Dick Schoof
• New Zealand’s prime minister Christopher Luxon
• Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit
• The Philippines’ president Ferdinand Marcos Jr
• Poland’s president Andrzej Duda
• Portugal’s president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and prime minister Luis Montenegro
• Romania’s interim president Ilie Bolojan
• Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia and prime minister Ulf Kristersson
• Switzerland’s president Karin Keller-Sutter
Who won’t be there?
Pope Francis walks next to Putin at the Vatican in 2015. Pic: AP
The Russian president will not be attending the funeral, the Kremlin has confirmed.
But the controversial leader paid tribute to the Pope, writing a message to Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is interim chief of the Catholic Church.
“Please accept my most sincere condolences on the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis,” Mr Putin said.
“Throughout the years of his pontificate, he actively promoted the development of dialogue between the Russian
Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, as well as constructive cooperation between Russia and the Holy See.”
Pope Francis and Benjamin Netanyahu meet at the Vatican in 2013. Pic: AP
The Israeli prime minister is not expected to attend, with the country’s ambassador Yaron Sideman going instead.
The Jewish state and the Vatican have had strong relations in the past, with Israel sending a presidential delegation to the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005, and Pope Francis visiting Israel in 2014.
But their relationship has deteriorated since the start of the war in Gaza.
A month after the conflict started in 2023, a dispute broke out over whether Pope Francis had used the word “genocide” to describe events in Gaza. Palestinians who met with him said he did, but the Vatican said he did not.
The Pope met relatives of Israeli hostages on the same day.
Israeli officials have since lobbied the Vatican to be more forceful in its condemnation of Hamas.
In January, the Pope called the humanitarian situation in Gaza “shameful”, prompting criticism from Rome’s chief rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni, who accused Francis of “selective indignation”.
Rabbi Di Segni says he will be attending the funeral, despite it taking place on the Jewish sabbath.
Is there a seating plan?
The seats are assigned in advance, with the heads of state sitting in French alphabetical order based on their country’s name, rather than on the individual’s.
This applies to everyone apart from the presidents of Italy and Argentina, who get the best seats because the Pope lived in Italy and was an Argentinian native.
UK
Vincent Nichols: British cardinal who will be in the conclave says picking the next pope is ‘intimidating’
The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has told Sky News it’s “intimidating” to be one of those responsible for choosing the next pope.
Vincent Nichols is among four UK cardinals in Rome for the Pope’s funeral on Saturday.
Following the funeral, and after nine days of mourning, cardinals from around the world will gather in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to cast their votes, with white smoke announcing to the world when a new pope has been elected.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols speaks to Sky’s Anna Botting
Cardinal Nichols told Sky’s Anna Botting: “I hope nobody goes into this conclave, as it were, with the sole purpose of wanting to win. I think it’s very important that we go in wanting to listen to each other… It has to be together, trying to sense what God wants next. Not just for the church.”
He described the procession that took Pope Francis to lie in state as “the most moving thing I’ve ever attended here”.
Describing the Pope as a “master of the gesture and the phrase”, he also recalled the pontiff’s last journey away from the Vatican.
Cardinal Nichols said Pope Francis had visited the Regina Coeli prison, telling the inmates: “You know, except for the grace of God, it could well have been me … Don’t lose hope, God has you written in his heart.”
Read more:
How Pope Francis’s funeral will unfold
The full order of service
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‘Pope touched the hearts of millions’
The Pope later told his doctor his last regret was not being able to wash the feet of the prisoners during that visit.
Becoming emotional, he also said the final message he would like to have given Pope Francis is “thank you”.
The 88-year-old died peacefully on Easter Monday, the Vatican confirmed.
Heads of state – including Sir Keir Starmer, Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron – have all confirmed their attendance at his funeral, which takes place on Saturday at St Peter’s Square.
Prince William will attend on behalf of the King, Kensington Palace has said.
You can watch full coverage of the funeral live on Sky News on Saturday
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Where will Pope Francis be buried?
Talking about the seating plan at the funeral, Cardinal Nichols said he understood it to be “royalty first, then heads of state, then political leaders”.
Cardinal Nichols explained event would be “exactly the same Catholic rite as everyone else – just on a grander scale”.
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3D map shows pope’s funeral route
In a break from tradition, Pope Francis will be the first pope in a century to be interred outside the Vatican – and will instead be laid to rest at his favourite church, Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome’s Esquilino neighbourhood.
He will also be buried in just one simple wooden coffin, instead of the traditional three coffins which are usually used for pontiffs.
Born in Crosby near Liverpool, Cardinal Vincent Nichols hoped to be a lorry driver as a child – but as a teenager reportedly felt the calling to join the priesthood while watching Liverpool FC.
As cardinal, he is known for leading the church’s work tackling human trafficking and modern slavery, for which he received the UN Path to Peace Award.
He was criticised by the UK’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which said he “demonstrated a lack of understanding” of the impact of abuse and “seemingly put the reputation of the church first”.
Cardinal Nichols, responding to the findings, previously told Sky News he was “ashamed at what has happened in the context of the Catholic Church” and promised to improve the church’s response.
He has appeared to rule himself out of the running for pope, telling reporters he was “too old, not capable”.
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