Leeds hospital patients '˜died after eating wet wipes and safety gel'

In a separate incident, a patient who died at St James’s Hospital last year was found to have eaten safety gel used on wards.

The deaths are among eight serious incidents which took place at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) in October and November 2015.

A report to hospital directors says the first patient was admitted to LGI in October after jumping from a bridge and suffering multiple injuries.

He had been in hospital for nine days when he was found unresponsive on his bed after having been left with a bowl and wipes to wash himself. During attempts to resuscitate him, wipes were removed from his mouth.

Craig Brigg, director of quality at LTHT, said in the report that the patient had been assessed by the psychiatry team as not requiring one-to-one care.

Police investigated the death and decided there were no suspicious circumstances, but a joint inquiry is underway by health bosses.

In the other incident, a patient being supervised by a private security guard because of his aggressive behaviour was seen to be choking after having been left alone briefly.

He was found to have thick crystals, believed to be from safety gel used to absorb fluids, in his mouth.