Nurse who refused to admit woman to mental health unit hours before she killed herself is struck off

A nurse who refused to admit a 22-year-old woman to a mental health unit hours before she killed herself has been struck off.

Paddy McKee lost his job after failing to admit Sally Mays to Miranda House in Hull before she took her life at home.

The verdict comes after a Fitness to Practise hearing conducted by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Ms Mays parents Andy and Angela fought for years for lessons to be learned after a coroner ruled it could have been avoided if she was admitted.

Their daughter took her own life in July 2014 after two nurses from Humber NHS Foundation Trust’s crisis team refused to admit her to hospital.

This came after a brief 14-minute assessment at Miranda House and despite her being a suicide risk.

Paddy McKee lost his job after failing to admit Sally Mays (pictured) to Miranda House in Hull before she took her life at home

Their daughter took her own life in July 2014 after two nurses from Humber NHS Foundation Trust’s crisis team refused to admit her to hospital. Pictured: Miranda House

McKee worked in the crisis service of the Trust at the time he dealt with Ms Mays but has now been struck off following a 12-day hearing.

Angela said: ‘The imposition of the maximum sanction of a striking off order to ensure that McKee never practises again is what we have sought over the past seven years.

‘It is important no other patient suffers the abject psychological torture and cruelty he inflicted on Sally when she was begging for help.

‘He afforded her no care, compassion, kindness or human dignity.

‘The sanction imposed by the NMC sends out a very important message about the standards of practise required of mental health professionals.

‘For us as a family, the past seven and a half years have been utterly harrowing. We will never be able to come to terms with the details of the unconscionable behaviour of those, so called ‘professionals’ responsible for Sally’s care and whose actions ultimately directly contributed to her death.’

An eight-day inquest in 2015 heard Ms Mays – who had emotionally unstable personality disorder – died from an overdose and mechanical asphyxia.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service, which was called to her, took 99 minutes to reach her west Hull flat.

The inquest heard she asked to be admitted to hospital as her mental health deteriorated in the last few days of her life.

Three nurses from her community team and her psychotherapist recommended a short stay in hospital in line with her care plan.

But McKee and another nurse refused to admit her after carrying out what Coroner Professor Paul Marks branded a ‘lamentable’ assessment.

An eight-day inquest in 2015 heard Ms Mays (pictured as a teenager) – who had emotionally unstable personality disorder – died from an overdose and mechanical asphyxia

They called police when Ms Mays started banging her head on a wall and tried to strangle herself in her distress.

But officers knew she needed to be in hospital and had a ‘stand-up fight’ with the two nurses outside Miranda House to persuade them to change their minds.

Yet they were later forced to take Ms Mays home when the nurses refused to reconsider.

Professor Marks said the decision not to admit Ms Mays constituted ‘neglect’ which bore ‘a direct causal relationship to her death later that evening’.

He said that had she been admitted following an initial assessment she ‘would have survived and not died when she did’.

He ruled the failure to admit her to hospital was neglect and said: ‘For the avoidance of doubt, had Sally been admitted, she would not have died that day.’

The Humber NHS Foundation Trust said it cannot comment on the NMC hearing result.

It said: ‘The trust undertook its own investigation at the time and has implemented significant improvements to its processes and strategy since 2014, to reduce the likelihood of any similar incidents occurring in the future.

‘While we do not comment on individual cases due to confidentiality reasons, it is extremely important to us that we communicate directly with those affected.’

• For confidential support call Samaritans on 116123 or visit a Samaritans branch