Family of man who committed murder after escaping from mental health unit say they were ‘failed’ by NHS trust | UK News

The family of a man who committed murder during an escape from a safe unit for mental health told Sky News that they were “failed” by the confidence intended to care for him.

Joshua Carroll is currently waiting to be sentenced for the murder of Headley Thomas, known as Barry, after beating him in a park in Trafford, Manchesterin September 2022.

At the time of the attack, Joshua was in the care of Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust (GMMH). He is treated as an inpatient in Park House, a unit that is now closed.

Joshua’s mother and sister say he escaped from the unit 21 times – and they repeatedly complained to the trust and asked for help.

Joshua’s sister Leanne Carroll told Sky News: “The night it happened, Joshua came to my house. And it was just a normal ‘Oh Joshua escaped from the hospital again’. Nothing looked different.”

She says they did not find out what happened until Joshua was arrested weeks later – and “everything fell apart from there”.

“My heart broke,” said Joshua’s mom, Julie Carroll. “It’s just a horrible, horrible situation.”

Joshua was diagnosed with conditions, including skiso -affective disorder, and was about 15 years in and out of inpatient care, his family said.

They showed me more than 20 pages of complaints and reactions from GMMH about his repeated escapees, dating eight years before the murder.

After Joshua’s fourth escape from Park House, his family asked him to be moved to another unit and said they were concerned about safety.

This did not happen, with the trust calling capacity issues. His family again complained about his escape five weeks before the murder, in August 2022.

“We are very, very angry and disappointed,” says Julie. “You think that if your child is in the hospital, and they are very bad, that they will be looked after – they will be safe and they will be safe. But that wasn’t the case for Josh. ‘

Although Joshua was convicted of murder, Leanne says his family GMMH holds partly responsible.

“If you did work properly – none of this would have happened,” she said. “Two families would not have been destroyed and so many hearts would not have been broken.”

Since 2022, GMMH has been served by the Care Quality Commission with several Article 29A alert notices. It is issued when the commission decides that a service should make significant improvements, and the risk of damage exists.

In the case of GMMH, their concerns included “Ward security systems that do not keep people safe”.

Dr John Mulligan is a clinical psychologist for GMMH, who works in the community for the early intervention in the psychosis service, and a representative of the Union Unite.

He and his colleagues have stopped repeatedly over the past seven months, saying that they just don’t have the levels of staff they need to keep people safe.

“Fortunately, violent incidents among our service users are quite rare, it is much more likely to be victims of violence and aggression,” he said. ‘But serious incidents happen regularly. Too often.

“It is very disturbing to staff and for patients and families.”

Salli Midgley, chief nurse at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, said: “On behalf of GMMH, we address our deepest condolences to Headley Thomas’s loved ones at this very sad time.

‘Our thoughts and sympathy remain with all who have been affected by this most devastating incident. We are very sorry that this happened while Joshua Carroll was under our care.

“Under the new leadership of the trust, we work closely with NHS England, our commissioners and the CQC to create better, safer and well -guided services for everyone.”

She continued: ‘A large amount of progress has already been made, but we know that we still have a lot to do to improve our services.

“As part of this work, we are currently conducting an in -depth investigation into the care and treatment provided to Mr Carroll, and the circumstances that lead to the death of Mr. Thomas, whose findings will be shared with NHS England.

“We cannot comment further on this matter as the investigation continues.”

Barry Thomas’s family told Sky News that mental health is a very serious matter – but they believe that Joshua Carroll was trying to “play his actions”.

They said: “Let us all remember that a life was taken. Our brother, father and uncle. The testimony that the police gathered was clear to everyone to see.

“We, the family, would like to thank all the police involved for the work they have done to bring justice to Barry.”