NHS Grampian fined £60,000 after patient took own life on Aberdeen hospital ward

An NHS health board has apologised after a patient took his own life while on a hospital ward.

NHS Grampian has been fined £60,000 by a sheriff following the incident on Royal Cornhill Hospital’s Huntly Ward in March 2020.

The health board admitted failures that allowed for the death of a patient in their care.

Vincent Mulsant was assessed as being at “significant risk of suicide or self-harm” but the court heard the health board failed to ensure he was not exposed to health and safety risks.

On sentencing, sheriff McLaughlin said: “No size of penalty can adequately reflect or compensate for the loss suffered by Mr Mulsant’s family as a result of this tragic incident.

“They ought reasonably to have been able to assume that Mr Mulsant was safe in the Huntly Ward from the risk that he otherwise posed to himself.

“It is difficult to comprehend fully the devastation they must have felt and must continue to feel at his loss, which was clearly preventable and the impact of which I can only begin to imagine.”

The sheriff said regular risk assessments were undertaken and a search specifically done of Mr Mulsant’s room to remove items that “might be capable of causing harm.”

She gave NHS Grampian credit for making changes after Mr Mulsant’s death and acknowledged the “parlous financial state” the board is in.

She added: “Clearly the offence cannot go unpunished.

“The penalty must suitably reflect the level of culpability and underline the importance, in particular in an organisation charged with protecting life and health, of the need to comply with Health and Safety Legislation and the protections it seeks to provide.”

The board has two months to pay the fine.

An NHS Grampian spokesperson said: “We apologise unreservedly for the failings which led to this tragic incident.

“Lessons have been learned and significant improvements made as a result.

“However, we remain deeply sorry to the family of Mr Mulsant for their loss.”