Sophie Bennett, 19, took her own life in 2016 while resident at Lancaster Lodge in London

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A care home charity advised by the internationally renowned mental health worker Elly Jansen is facing criminal prosecution over the death of Sophie Bennett, a 19-year-old resident who took her own life.

The Care Quality Commission is bringing charges against Richmond Psychosocial Foundation International (RPFI), which ran Lancaster Lodge in Richmond, south west London, where Bennett was a resident when she died in 2016.

Jansen pioneered the use of halfway houses as therapeutic communities for people with mental illness and was awarded an OBE in 1980. She founded RPFI but no longer has a formal role and will not be prosecuted. Peggy Jhugroo, who was working as a consultant coordinator at the home when Bennett died, is also facing charges.

Bennett suffered from bipolar affective disorder, social anxiety disorder and atypical autism, and died in Kingston hospital as a result of her injuries two days after she was discovered unconscious in a bathroom at the home.

RPFI’s 2018 report and accounts describe Jansen as “closely involved in the charity throughout the year” and say she owns the Lancaster Lodge buildings.

In April, the Charity Commission opened a statutory inquiry into RPFI.

The charity and Jhugroo are both charged with breaching Health and Social Care Act regulations intended to prevent people from receiving unsafe care and treatment and to prevent avoidable harm. The first hearing is scheduled to take place at Ealing magistrates court on 24 May.

The regulator said in a statement: “The CQC has informed RPFI that it will be prosecuted over an alleged failure to provide safe care and treatment resulting in a service user being exposed to the significant risk of avoidable harm … The prosecution follows an incident in May 2016 when Sophie Bennett, 19, took her own life in Lancaster Lodge in Richmond, west London.”