Psychiatrist feared Yorkshire teenager 'wasn’t safe' two days before he was found dead

Ben Nelson-Roux died at Cavendish House in Harrogate on April 8 in 2020, after taking a number of drugs, including cocaine, diazepam and ecstasy.

His mother Kate Roux said her son had been struggling with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), severe mental health issues and drug and alcohol abuse for several years.

An inquest heard he had also been exploited by drug dealers and forced to sell Class A drugs, after falling into debt.

He was provided with accomodation at the council-run hostel after his mother had asked him to leave the family home in January 2020, because he had become violent.

Two days before his death, he was taken to Harrogate District Hospital’s A&E department, because he had fallen after taking crack cocaine and diazepam.

The inquest was told his mother had called for him to be detained under the Mental Health Act, as she was concerned he could die, but mental health crisis teams and doctors concluded there were no grounds to detain him.

His records also showed he was not suffering from a severe mental disorder and there was not a significant threat of self harm or suicide.

After being called to assess the teenager, Dr Giovanni Cirulli, a consultant psychiatrist, raised concerns about his physical health, because he had taken 29 tablets of diazepam.

Dr Cirulli said a mental assessment was not carried out at that time, because Ben was heavily intoxicated, but his physical health was the “main concern”.

The psychiatrist also said that even if Ben had clearly needed inpatient treatment on a secure mental health ward, there were no beds available.

He recommended that Ben should be reassessed in the A&E department and he was expecting a call from the department before his shift ended, but it never came.

He phoned the hospital for the following day and was told three doctors discussed the case and concluded the teenger did not need to be admitted for treatment.

“The evidence would suggest, at the moment in time, Ben wasn’t safe, but not because he had a mental disorder, '' Dr Cirulli said.

“He wasn’t looking after himself, he was being exploited, he was taking drugs. He was doing all the things he shouldn’t be doing.

“He wasn’t eating. He didn’t have an oven which worked. To me it was more about his welfare.”

He added: “Did anyone do a safety check on him?”

Ms Roux found her son’s body at the hostel on April 8, when she was planning to take him to see a psychiatrist.

Speaking at the inquest earlier this week, Dr David Loveday-Sims, a psychiatrist with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), said it was Ben’s drugs and alcohol abuse that was “increasing the risk of harm to himself and others”, but the teenager refused to stop.

He also said Ben’s accommodation “posed a significant risk” and his mother was asked to consider bringing him home as “a short-term safeguard”.

He told the inquest that CAMHS had concluded Ben was not suffering with a serious mental illness in January, and closed his file in March because he missed two consecutive sessions and was reluctant to engage with treatment.

A child protection strategy meeting, involving social workers, mental health professionals and other safeguarding experts, was due to be held on the day of his death.

The inquest continues.