Absconded Coventry mental health patient found with knife

BBC News

17-02-2025

A man who died at a mental health facility was found holding a knife when he absconded several days before, an inquest has heard.Henok Zaid Gebrsslasie was being held at the Caludon Centre in Coventry after being sectioned.The 23-year-old had fled his native Eritrea as a child and had lived for years as a refugee, the court heard. He was admitted to the centre on 2 August 2021 and found dead there on 12 August.
The football-loving youngster was kind, liked to make jokes and help the needy, his family told the inquest hearing via a statement. He had arrived in the UK in May 2020 after travelling across the Sahara, Mediterranean and Europe.Addressing jurors, Coventry coroner Delroy Henry described how Mr Gebrsslasie had initially been arrested by police on 2 August 2021. His behaviour in detention gave rise to a mental health assessment at the Caludon Centre, where he was detained under the Mental Heath Act.Treatment at the centre included anti-psychotic drugs following episodes of violence, the court was told. Giving evidence on Monday, locum Dr Ahmad Alastal said he had initially assessed the patient via a video link on 4 August where he was uncooperative, agitated and said he did not want to engage with health professionals. "He then took his clothes off, threw them down and left the room," the witness explained. An entry in a care record in the days before the assessment stated Mr Gebrsslasie had told another doctor he wanted to kill two people and then himself. On 5 August he absconded from the hospital before being picked up, from his home address, by officers who saw he had a knife, the court heard, with jurors told he stated he wanted to hurt himself. He was returned to the centre's Sherbourne ward, a psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU), where a further incident led to restraint and medication, jurors learned. He was also issued with rip-proof clothing.
On 12 August, Mr Gebrsslasie was found dead in his room.The court was told his own clothes had been returned to him earlier that day. At the time of his death, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust, which runs the facility, had been trialling technology called Oxevision which had captured events surrounding his death on video. This would be shown to jurors as part of a three-week hearing, the coroner said. The inquest at Coventry Council House continues.
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