Results for: Neglect

The Priory Group, one of the UK’s largest private mental health care providers, is facing scrutiny after the death of a fifth patient at its Cheadle Royal Hospital. Amina Ismail, 20, died in September 2023, a year after three other young women died at the same unit. The new inquest follows the deaths of Beth Matthews, Lauren Bridges, and Deseree Fitzpatrick. Richard Caseby, whose son Matthew died after escaping from a Priory hospital in 2020, has called for a criminal inquiry into the group. Caseby alleges that the Priory is a “fundamentally dangerous company” that “persistently refuses to learn from its mistakes and neglect.”

A disabled mother with one leg has been forced to crawl up a flight of concrete stairs to get to her flat for years, despite the local council promising to get her an accessible home. Tracey Whiteside, 48, has had to crawl up and down 17 stairs every day to her second-floor flat in Linwood, Renfrewshire, for almost four years. The situation has had a devastating impact on her mental and physical health, with doctors warning that the extra strain on her remaining leg could cause her to lose it.

A couple, Sophie Singer and Keith Byrne, have avoided prison sentences for neglecting their 14-year-old boxer dog, Bentley, to the point of starvation. Bentley was found at the foot of the stairs by a neighbor who entered their home through a broken front door the day after they left for a holiday at Center Parcs. Despite an untouched bowl of water and dog snacks nearby, there was no food in Bentley’s stomach. Instead, he had turned to eating food wrappers and a felt pen found in his stomach. Bentley was barely alive when an RSPCA inspector entered their home the next day. He was covered in scabs and weighed just 12.5kg, less than half the weight of an average boxer. Singer and Byrne, who are the parents of seven children, claimed they had left Bentley in the care of a family friend, but the judge rejected this claim and criticized their avoidance of court.

In a shocking case of animal cruelty, Susan Shaw, 60, and Jack Wynne, 30, have been banned from keeping animals for a decade after their appalling treatment of two dogs. French bulldog Gucci was discovered in a bathtub, deceased and partially decomposed, while fellow canine Violet was found severely dehydrated and malnourished. An investigation revealed that the dogs’ feeding bowls were empty and there was no water available. Expert witnesses testified to the horrific conditions the dogs endured, with one vet observing that Gucci’s remains displayed signs of mummification and had likely been deceased for several weeks or even months.

A couple in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter for allegedly neglecting their 9-year-old daughter, Amy Lynn Modrow, who died following an asthma attack. According to court documents, the parents failed to call for medical help for over three hours after Amy began experiencing breathing difficulties. When Amy’s friend’s mother offered to take her to the doctor, the parents declined. By the time emergency services were called, Amy had turned blue and had stopped breathing. Doctors said Amy would have had a better chance of survival with earlier medical intervention.