Killer of fellow patient deteriorated 'rapidly'

An inquest into the death of a man killed by a fellow mental health patient at a Hampshire hospital has heard his attacker's condition "deteriorated very rapidly".

Owen Herbert, 19, strangled Richard Laversuch, 63, hours after being admitted to a low-risk ward at Parklands Hospital in Basingstoke in November 2021.

An inquest heard Herbert had been sectioned after "voices" urged him to kill people and his parents struggled to stop him leaving their family home in Overton with weapons.

After pleading guilty to manslaughter, Herbert was given an indefinite hospital order in 2023.

Herbert, who had a history of taking drugs and abusing alcohol, had been held in the psychiatric intensive care unit at the same hospital two months before the attack.

When he was discharged, he was then cared for in the community by the Early Intervention In Psychosis (EIP) team - run at the time by Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust.

Parklands Hospital is now run by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

A jury inquest at Winchester Coroner's Court heard from Herbert's care coordinator, registered mental health nurse Donna Norris-Farmer.

She said the teenager had been "funny, cheeky and a pleasure to work with" and his parents were very active in supporting him.

But both they and she grew increasingly worried by a sharp "deterioration" in his mental state and "unpredictable" behaviour.

When she visited Herbert at his parents home on 26 November 2021, she said she found him "acutely unwell" and believed the risk to him and others was "creeping towards the high end".

After discussions with him, his parents and a junior doctor who was also present, it was decided they would continue to support him in the community because he strongly opposed going into hospital, and would frequently reassess the situation.

Norris-Farmer said shortly after leaving the house, his parents called to say the teenager had refused to let them take another weapon away and they could no longer cope, so she requested an "urgent" mental health act assessment for him.

"That's when the balance shifted," she said.

Norris-Farmer said she had then made the necessary calls, including to Hampshire County Council's Approved Mental Health Practitioner (AMHP) hub and an NHS Trust crisis team.

The coroner's court heard AMHP's are not qualified clinicians or doctors, but rather social workers responsible for meeting the council's legal responsibilities under the mental health act when an assessment is requested.

They ensure the threshold for assessment is met, arrange assessments by two separate doctors, contact mental health trusts for available beds and organise patient transportation to hospital.

Norris-Farmer said she would usually expect a call back from an AMHP to discuss the patient, but despite being asked repeatedly, she said she never received such a call and if she had "it would absolutely" be in her notes.

The jury heard that the AMHP who dealt with Herbert's case disputed her account and claimed in previous statements that he had spoken to her. He is due to appear as a witness later this week.

During the inquest the coroner explained to the jury some of things they would need to consider.

They included the actions of EIP team, the appropriateness of his mental health section, risk assessment, communication between organisations and individuals, and the suitability of the ward he was admitted to.

The inquest is expected to last for two weeks.