Priory fined £650k over death of escaped patient

A PRIVATE health company that provides mental health services to NHS patients has been fined £650,000 for exposing a patient to serious risk of harm.

The prosecution was brought by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after Matthew Caseby, 23, absconded from the Priory Hospital Woodbourne in Birmingham in 2020. He was found dead the following day with catastrophic head injuries after being hit by a train.

The court heard that Caseby, who had no previous medical diagnosis or treatment, was diagnosed as suffering a psychotic episode on Sept 8 2020, after experiencing hallucinations and hearing voices. He was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and, on Sept 7, transferred by ambulance to the Priory Hospital Woodbourne.

The following day he climbed over a fence in the ward’s courtyard and was found dead the morning afterwards.

The court heard that in the two years before this incident, three other patients had absconded by climbing over the fence, but it wasn’t until after Caseby’s death that Priory Healthcare Ltd, the company that operates the hospital, increased the size of the fence to prevent further escapes.

Caseby’s father, Richard, a former managing editor of was in court and read a victim statement.

Choking back tears and with a faltering voice, he explained that he had driven from his home in London to help look for his son after he had escaped and was only 200 yards away when he was hit by a train.

Describing the effect on his two daughters, he said: “It has been the most wounding and traumatic experience of their lives, and it continues to this day.” And speaking about the effect on him and his wife, Mr Caseby said: “The death of a child changes your DNA. The natural order of the world is permanently disrupted even though the sun dares to show its face each morning.”

Passing sentence, District Judge Shamim Qureshi said that Priory’s culpability was high. He criticised their statistical analysis, which showed that three previous escapees had suffered little or no injuries, saying that “the likelihood of harm” from people escaping “is unpredictable. Some patients are a danger to themselves. That is why they have been sectioned.”

He said that his starting point was a fine of £1 million, reduced to £650,000 because of Priory’s guilty plea. It was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £43,672.65 and a surcharge of £170.