WARNING MENTIONS SUICIDE: Ruth Szymankiewicz, 14, took her life after she was left unsupervised by a hospital worker with a fake ID – CCTV shows the teenager’s final moments at Huntercombe Hospital
These are the haunting final moments of a 14-year-old girl who was left unsupervised in a hospital by a worker using a fake ID.
Ruth Szymankiewicz had been at the Huntercombe Hospital in Berkshire, having treatment for an eating disorder, when she tragically took her own life. The 14-year-old had been placed under strict one-to-one observation on the children’s psychiatric ward, due to previous incidents of self-harm. CCTV footage from the hospital now shows Ruth’s final moments as she walked away from a lounge in the ward and through the corridors alone.
In the footage, the teenager is seen with a blanket wrapped around her body as she walks past adults and other patients before going into her room on February 12 2022.
Ruth was then seen shutting the door behind her, again not being supervised. The teen was able to shut herself in her bedroom alone for 15 minutes, a jury inquest held at Buckinghamshire Coroner’s Court heard earlier this month.
A nurse then found Ruth and raised the alarm, but the teenager had already self-harmed. Ruth died two days later at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
Ellesha Brannigan, who worked as a clinical team leader on the ward, told the court she ran to Ruth’s bedroom after the alarm was raised and found the teenage girl lying unconscious.
Brannigan said: “She was just still.” The worker added the teenager was not breathing and staff initiated chest compressions in an attempt to revive her.
It later emerged the member of staff responsible for watching Ruth at the hospital – a man then known as Ebo Acheampong – had been using fake identity documents and was hired under a false name.
About a week prior, Ruth’s care plan had been escalated to “level three observation” after a similar self-harming incident, Brannigan told the court. She said: “Level three observation is within eyesight at all times.”
Staff members would take turns watching Ruth for 60 minutes at a time, the inquest heard. Asked by the coroner if there were circumstances in which a member of staff responsible for a level three observation could take their eyes off the patient, she replied: “No. If they (the patient) are prescribed level three observation, you must comply with what is prescribed.”
The worker never returned to the hospital after the tragic incident and fled the UK to Ghana. A jury at the inquest, earlier this month, ruled Ruth had been unlawfully killed.
Ruth’s dad, Mark, told Sky News: “She went somewhere that was supposed to be helping her, and it made her worse. The isolation and lack of access to her family had a massively negative impact.”
Ruth’s mum, Kate, added: “The children get lost. Ruth got lost. She was lost in the middle of all this chaos.” The hospital had a strict visitors regime which meant Ruth was no able to have regular contact with her parents.
Her family said they believe Ruth would be alive if they were able to see the teenager more often.
For mental health support, contact the Samaritans on 116 123, email them at [email protected] or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.