The mental health ward where Charlie Millers suffered a fatal injury struggled with short staffing, an inquest has heard. However, staff taking care of Charlie before his tragic death say observations on him were happening every five minutes, as planned.
The 17-year-old trans boy died five days after he was found unresponsive in his room on mental health unit Junction 17 at the site of the former Prestwich Hospital, run by Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust (GMMH) on December 2nd, 2020.
Charlie died from a hypoxic brain injury after being found completely unconscious with injuries caused by a ligature. At the time he was on a strict observation regime where he was supposed to be checked on every five minutes, the court was told in a four-week inquest with a jury. READ MORE: Psychiatrist apologises publicly for comparing tragic teen's life to a car crash Staff who were working at the Junction 17 unit at the time of Charlie’s fatal injuries said in a hearing today (April 16) that the service struggled with short staffing.
There was a ‘big challenge with staff retention’, explained Natalie Hughes, a mental health nurse working for GMMH at the time of Charlie’s death.