A 14-year-old girl was unlawfully killed when she died at a children's mental health ward after an agency worker with a fake ID left her alone, an inquest jury has ruled.
Ruth Szymankiewicz, who was being treated for an eating disorder at Huntercombe Hospital in Berkshire, was under strict one-to-one observation when the staff member responsible for her walked away on February 12, 2022.
The worker, then known as Ebo Acheampong, had never worked in a psychiatric hospital before and was on his first shift at Huntercombe, an inquest at Buckinghamshire Coroner's Court heard.
A police investigation later found he was hired by the Platinum agency - which supplied staff for Huntercombe Hospital - under a false name. He never returned to work at the hospital following the incident and fled the UK for Ghana.
The ward was missing at least half of its staff on the day Ruth, who had self harmed several times in the past, was left unsupervised.
