Ex-classmates died after being treated at same mental health hospital – as concerns raised over more deaths

They were former classmates who both died after receiving care from the same mental health hospital three years apart.

Warning: This article contains reference to suicide

Multiple failings led to the death of 22-year-old Alice Figueiredo – who took her own life in July 2015 – and the NHS trust responsible for her care was charged with corporate manslaughter.

Last week, following a months-long trial, the trust was found not guilty of that charge but was convicted of serious health and safety failings.

Karis Braithwate, who had gone to school with Alice, also died in 2018, having been treated by the same NHS trust.

Reports seen by Sky News detail a decade of deaths at North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT), with coroners repeatedly raising concerns about the mental health services provided by the trust – in particular at Goodmayes Hospital in Ilford.

Rushed assessments and neglect were often cited. One patient was marked as alive and well, even though he had taken his own life inside the hospital the previous day.

Another patient told staff he was hearing voices telling him to kill himself, yet staff did not remove crucial items from his possession – items he would later use to take his own life.

Karis, 24, was sent to Goodmayes Hospital after she tried to take her own life at a train station in October 2018. The next day, staff spent 27 minutes assessing her and a further two minutes confirming their conclusion.

She was discharged from hospital in the afternoon. She then went to a nearby railway station and took her own life. Her death came less than an hour after she had left the hospital.

Karis had been friends with Alice, her mother said. The pair had been classmates at the same school.

Karis told her mother she was upset at being put on the same ward where Alice had taken her own life three years earlier.

Her stepfather Mark Bambridge called Karis sweet and kind and said she often “struggled with life”. He felt relief when she was taken to hospital, saying: “She was in a place where she would be taken care of.”

Karis’s mother – who asked not to be named – said her daughter confided in her about the neglect she endured at the hospital.

Karis told her mother that her carer would sleep when they were supposed to be watching over her and said she never felt safe.

“She spoke of her belongings going missing, of being treated with indifference and disrespect, and of staff who showed little concern for her wellbeing,” her mother said.

Karis’s mother said her daughter was failed by the hospital and the family was offered only a “hollow, superficial and indifferent ‘apology’ from the administration team of those who were meant to protect her”.

In the wake of the verdict in Alice’s case, Karis’s mother said: “I am holding Alice’s family in my thoughts and praying they receive the justice they – and we – so clearly need and deserve.”

A spokesperson for NELFT called Karis’s death a “profound tragedy” and said the trust had conducted an in-depth review of patient safety since 2018, “resulting in significant changes in the way we assess risk of suicide”.

“We train our staff to consider the trauma in a patient’s history, rather than focusing solely on their current crisis,” the spokesperson added.

“This approach allows us to see the person behind the diagnosis, making it easier to identify warning signs and support safe recovery.”

The trust said it had also improved record-keeping and communication between emergency workers and mental health practitioners.

The man marked as alive after he’d died

Sky News looked at more than 20 prevention of future death reports, which are written by a coroner to draw attention to a matter in which they think action could be taken to prevent future deaths.

Behind each report is a different person, but there are some strikingly similar themes – failure to carry out adequate risk assessments; issues sharing and recording information; neglect.

One report said staff at Goodmayes Hospital “panicked and did not follow policy” in the wake of a man’s death in 2021, instead writing that he was still alive when he had died the day before.

Speaking in response at the time, the trust said it had written a “detailed action plan” to address concerns raised.

Another report said one woman developed deep vein thrombosis after she was left to sit motionless in her room. She had not eaten or drunk anything in the two days before her death, and the trust was criticised for failing to record her food intake.

Responding to the report at the time, the trust said it had implemented new policies to learn from her death.

Issues stretched beyond Goodmayes Hospital and spanned the entire NHS trust.

One man was not given any community support and overdosed after his access to medication was not limited.

Another man, a father of three, was detained under the Mental Health Act but released from Goodmayes after just a few hours. The 39-year-old was found dead two weeks later after being reported missing by his family.

At his inquest, a coroner raised concerns about the lack of a detailed assessment around him, with a junior doctor saying he was the only doctor available for 11 wards and 200 patients.

‘Don’t kill yourself on my shift’

It has been 10 years since Alice took her own life inside the walls of Goodmayes Hospital. But current patients say the issues haven’t gone away.

Teresa Whitbread said her 18-year-old granddaughter Chantelle was a high suicide risk but she still managed to escape from the hospital “20 times”.

“I walked in one day and said, ‘Where is Chantelle?’, and no one could tell me,” she told Sky News.

On another occasion, Chantelle managed to get into the medical room and stabbed herself and a nurse with a needle.

She said one nurse told her granddaughter: “Don’t kill yourself on my shift. Wait until you go home and kill yourself.”

Teresa grew emotional as she talked about her granddaughter, once a vibrant young girl and avid boxer, whose treatment is now managed by community services.

“It’s made her worse,” Teresa said of Chantelle’s experience at Goodmayes Hospital. “There’s no care, there’s no care plan, there’s no treatment.”

The NEFLT said it could not comment on specific cases but added that “patient safety is our absolute priority, and we work closely with our patients and their families to ensure we provide compassionate care tailored to their needs”.

Chantelle’s family say she is a shell of her former self and have begged mental health services not send her back to Goodmayes.

“Something has to change, and if it doesn’t change, [the hospital] needs to be closed down,” Teresa said.

“Because people are not safe in there.”

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