Southern Health trust admits breaching health and safety law in case of 18-year-old who had a seizure and drowned in a bath

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

An NHS trust has said it is “truly sorry” about the death of a teenager with epilepsy who drowned in a bath while in its care, after it admitted failings.

Southern Health trust pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety law in the case of Connor Sparrowhawk, who had a seizure and drowned in a bath in an NHS care unit in Oxford in 2013.



The 18-year-old’s death led to an independent inquiry discovering that the trust had failed to properly investigate the unexpected deaths of 1,454 patients with learning difficulties or mental health problems over a period of four years.



‘We never thought he wouldn’t come home’: why did our son, Connor Sparrowhawk, die? Read more

On Monday a representative of the trust appeared at Banbury magistrates court, Oxfordshire, following a criminal prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).



The district judge, Tim Pattinson, said the court expressed its “deepest sympathies” over Connor’s death after the trust admitted breaching a health and safety law. It faces a potentially unlimited fine when it is sentenced at Oxford crown court on 12 October.

In a statement issued after the short hearing, Julie Dawes, the interim chief executive of Southern Health, said: “Connor’s loss continues to have a devastating impact on his family and we are truly sorry that we didn’t keep him safe.

“His death has led to significant changes and improvements in the trust. As a result of the changes we have made we hope that all families and service users will now experience a more compassionate approach from Southern Health.”

Connor’s mother, Dr Sara Ryan, declined to comment after the guilty plea but pointed the Guardian to a blogpost she wrote on Sunday in which she criticised the “greedy, arrogant and failing” Southern Health.

In the blogpost, Ryan wrote that the NHS trust had “blamed everyone but themselves” in the four years since Connor died. Shesaid: “Just imagine. A guilty plea from a trust who have forced us to fight every step of the beyond distressing way for accountability.”

A medical tribunal in Manchester heard last month that plans had been drawn up to check on Connor every 10 minutes because of his epilepsy. However, a month before his death the observations were reduced to only once an hour despite Connor recently biting his tongue, an indication of a seizure.



The teenager, who was affectionately nicknamed Laughing Boy, had epilepsy, autism and learning difficulties and was admitted to Slade House, a care unit run by Southern Health NHS foundation trust, on 19 March 2013. He was found unresponsive in the bath less than four months later, on 4 July.



The tribunal in Manchester found that Dr Valerie Murphy, the lead clinician responsible for Connor’s care, failed to carry out any risk assessments on him. Murphy, who now works in Ireland, could face being struck off when the tribunal considers possible sanctions in November.



Southern Health trust offers specialist mental health and learning disability services to patients in Hampshire and areas of Oxfordshire. The trust’s chief executive, Katrina Percy, resigned in October 2016 amid public outcry. Slade Hall closed in 2014.

