The inquest into the death of Simon Harris will commence on Monday 23 May 2016. It is listed for one week.

30 year old Simon Harris died on 20 December 2014. At the time of his death, Simon was an inpatient on Ogura Ward, part of Sunflowers Court acute mental health unit at Goodmayes Hospital. He had been brought to the unit just six days earlier by police officers who were concerned for his safety. Simon, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and emotionally unstable personality disorder, was subject to 15 minute observations throughout his admission. However, at just after 9pm on 20 December 2014, a healthcare assistant found Simon hanging from a ligature in his bathroom. Tragically, Simon did not regain consciousness and was pronounced dead at the scene at 10.22pm.

Simon’s family hope the inquest will explore important issues surrounding the care and treatment provided to Simon by the NHS Trust, including:

• the care provided to Simon leading up to his admission to hospital;
• the adequacy of care provided in hospital, including care planning, risk assessment, risk management, medical reviews, the conduct of observations and communication between staff on the ward; and
• the emergency medical care provided to Simon on 20 December 2014.

The Interested Persons in the inquest proceedings are Simon’s family, North East London NHS Foundation Trust and the Care Quality Commission.

Simon’s grandmother, Brenda Robinson said:

My grandson was a sweet, generous and talented young man and losing him has been absolutely crushing for our family. Simon was admitted to Ogura Ward for his own protection and we thought he would be safe there. We want to understand through the inquest process how Simon came to die whilst in the care of North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We hope that our experience will help to ensure lessons are learned so that other families are spared the pain we have suffered.

Simon’s mother, Sharon Harris added:

Simon was a very much loved son, brother and uncle, who was liked by all that knew him. It breaks our hearts that we will never see his infectious smile or hear his voice again. Through the inquest we hope to get answers to the many questions we have about the way Simon was treated and the care he received from the Trust.

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