Devastated family of Aviemore teen found dead near hospital gets apology and payout from NHS Highland
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The family of a teenager who took her own life after disappearing from an Inverness hospital has received a formal apology and payout from NHS Highland.
Jade McGrath (19) had been admitted to New Craigs psychiatric hospital where she was being treated for severe anxiety having been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.
Although she had threatened to take her own life, she was able to walk out of the hospital on November 28, 2018.
Her body was found by children 11 days later in woodland about half-a-mile away.
Her mother, Samantha Taylor, took civil action to get justice for her daughter after being told there would be no Fatal Accident Inquiry into Jade’s death.
"I thought if I let them get away with this, I am letting Jade down," said Mrs Taylor, of Carrbridge.
"I also got support from Jade's father's family. I don't think I would have managed to do it on my own.
"Obviously, I am relieved. It has taken more than four-and-a-half years to get this."
She was critical, however, that staff who were supposed to be looking after her daughter had never apologised directly.
"I have never heard a single word from any one of those people," she said. "I hold them responsible. They didn't look after her properly."
Mrs Taylor had no idea whether lessons had been learned and added that from her own observations and other anecdotes she felt there was a toxic working environment in the hospital.
Mrs Taylor said there had been initial delays in her daughter being reported missing and also staff failed to tell police she was a suicide risk.
A spokeswoman for NHS Highland said: "We are really sorry that we did not meet the standards that should have been expected in relation to the tragic case of Jade McGrath.
"We take seriously our responsibility to learn from such events and we therefore carried out a review and we are working on delivering the key recommendations contained within that review."
Two months ago, concerns for patients and staff at New Craigs hospital prompted the Health and Safety Executive to issue NHS Highland with an improvement notice.
Related article:
Carrbridge family make appeal to find missing daughter
Among the list of issues raised was that there had been a failure to remove identified ligature points from areas on the wards where patients may be isolated such as bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms.
It also said the health authority had failed to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to staff who may be exposed to violence at work.
