Watford General is piloting new processes and recruiting for a mental health role after a man died by suicide straight after leaving the hospital.

Paz Ogbe-Millar, 30, died after he was hit by a high-speed train near Harrow and Wealdstone Station on December 2, 2021.

The 30-year-old had arrived at WGH earlier that day after suffering a mental health-related emergency, but staff did not accompany him when he claimed he was leaving hospital to smoke a cigarette.

He then travelled into North London where he took his own life.

The hospital's NHS trust has confirmed it will be making changes to stop anything similar reoccurring, with the details confirmed in a statement yesterday (April 2).

In February, a coroner’s report told West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust that action should be taken to prevent future deaths.

The coroner raised concerns over observation policy, referrals to the correct organisations, recording information, and Mr Ogbe-Millar’s mother being asked to leave the emergency department “in breach of hospital policy”.

The report described Mr Ogbe-Millar as a “heavy cannabis user” for much of his life, which led to his diagnosis with cannabis-induced psychosis in 2020.

He received treatment from both community and in-patient mental health teams before his death.

Yesterday (April 2), a trust spokesperson said: “We would like to offer our deepest condolences to Mr Ogbe-Millar's family for their loss.

“As a trust, we have a deep commitment to patient safety and continuous improvement.”

Policies already brought in “to strengthen our mental health services” include a new Electronic Patient Record, introduced in 2021, to provide a “comprehensive” view of a patient’s medical history as well as refining assessment tools to help identify and address risks.

The spokesperson added: “We are now recruiting for a dedicated permanent matron for mental health after a highly successful trial, which will further improve the support provided to our patients, staff, and service users.

“And we are piloting a suicide prevention pathway with our mental health partnership teams to reduce the risk of suicides.

“We will continue to keep our policies and processes under regular review to ensure we provide the best possible care for our patients.”

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