Overview
- At Brighton Magistrates' Court on 27 October, the Care Quality Commission secured a guilty plea from the trust for failing to provide safe care, with sentencing set for 26 November and a substantial fine reported as likely.
- Ellame Ford-Dunn absconded from Worthing Hospital’s Bluefin ward on 20 March 2022 and was later found with a ligature near the hospital grounds, where she died despite CPR.
- An agency nurse did not immediately follow Ellame after she left the ward because she believed she had been instructed not to leave, highlighting confusion linked to an unclear policy.
- The trust accepted its policy failure and says it has amended the guidance, as its chief nurse offered an apology for not keeping Ellame safe while in its care.
- Court submissions noted the acute children’s ward was not equipped for her needs and that no specialist tier‑four bed was available, while the inquest remains adjourned and the trust is separately reported to be under police investigation over other deaths.