The family of a mentally ill killer, who died in a secure psychiatric unit less than a month after being sectioned, have said they are glad the NHS failings which led to the "tragedy" of his death have been exposed.
Somalian national Daha Mohamed was detained under the Mental Health Act on January 29 last year.
This was after he slit his wheelchair-bound neighbour Colin Greenway's throat with a 10-inch carving knife in his Abbotts Road flat.
An inquest into the 52-year-old's death at Gravesend Old Town Hall last Thursday (November 26) found that Mohamed, who had type 2 diabetes and a heart condition, died of natural causes.
However, the jury added that his death was contributed to by multiple "failings" in Dartford's Bracton Centre, run by Oxleas NHS Trust, where he lived in a secure psychiatric unit.
In a statement, Mohamed's family said: "We were anxious to establish the facts surrounding the events that happened that fateful night.
"We are thankful that the trust’s failings have finally been brought to light.
"Clearly, more could and should have been done to avert this tragedy.
"We hope these findings will result in remedial action being taken and will lead to higher standards of care being provided to patients in the future."
Attwaters Jameson Hill solicitor Madeline Seibert, representing the family, added: "The inquest’s findings have exposed some serious failings at the Bracton Centre.
"In this case, not only was the level of care provided substandard, there were also failings in staff training and a lack of the necessary expertise to instigate the appropriate emergency response.
"On top of this, it is frankly alarming that basic medical equipment wasn’t in proper working order.
"We all sincerely hope that lessons can be learned from the events highlighted in this tragic case."
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