Overview

• A Buckinghamshire coroner’s jury concluded on August 14 that 14-year-old Ruth Szymankiewicz was unlawfully killed after being left unattended on a psychiatric intensive care ward.
• An agency support worker, identified in court as using the alias Ebo Acheampong, had only one day of online training and worked under a false identity before fleeing to Ghana.
• Evidence showed the Thames ward was severely understaffed—missing at least half its staff—and relied heavily on undertrained temporary workers.
• Although Ruth was placed on constant one-to-one observation, she was left alone for about 15 minutes and self-harmed, suffering a fatal brain injury two days later.
• Experts, charities and Ruth’s family are demanding tighter vetting, enhanced staffing levels and clearer regulatory accountability, even as criminal charges remain unlikely while the carer is overseas.