On August 14, 2025, a Berkshire inquest jury delivered a powerful and unsettling verdict: the death of 14-year-old Ruth Szymankiewicz at Huntercombe Hospital was an unlawful killing. The decision, rendered at Buckinghamshire Coroner’s Court, capped a harrowing journey for Ruth’s family and cast a harsh light on the failings of a system meant to protect vulnerable children in crisis.
Ruth’s story, as reported by BBC, Sky News, and The Independent, is one of heartbreak compounded by institutional neglect. In October 2021, Ruth, a bright and adventurous teenager from Salisbury, was admitted to Huntercombe Hospital near Maidenhead, Berkshire, to receive treatment for an eating disorder. The facility, also known as Taplow Manor, had already been flagged for serious concerns: the Care Quality Commission (CQC) had rated it “inadequate” and later “requires improvement” in two separate 2021 inspections.
On the evening of February 12, 2022, Ruth was left alone for about 15 minutes in her ward, despite a care plan that mandated constant, one-to-one supervision due to her history of self-harm. CCTV footage revealed that her assigned support worker, Ebo Acheampong—on his first shift and hired through an agency using fake documents—repeatedly left her unattended in the TV room. Seizing the opportunity, Ruth walked alone to her bedroom, where she was later found unconscious. She died two days later at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
The inquest revealed that more than half the staff scheduled for Ruth’s ward were absent that night, and 50% of those present were agency workers. Acheampong, who had never worked in a psychiatric hospital before, was drafted in from another ward to cover the shortages. According to Sky News, a support worker with 18 years’ experience at Huntercombe had filed a risk management report that very day, warning that staff shortages could “fail to monitor patients on prescribed special observation.”
After the tragedy, Acheampong fled the UK for Ghana. Thames Valley Police investigated but did not prosecute, citing the complexities of the case and his absence from the country. The Active Care Group, which ran Huntercombe Hospital after taking over from the Huntercombe Group in 2021, stated it was “disappointed” that the recruitment agency failed to detect Acheampong’s fake papers and confirmed it no longer works with that agency.
Ruth’s parents, Mark and Kate Szymankiewicz—both doctors—spoke with raw emotion outside the court. “Ruth was an incredible, bright, friendly, loving and adventurous girl with a whole life of joy ahead of her,” said her father. “When, at our most vulnerable as a family, we reached out for help; we ultimately found ourselves trapped in a system that was meant to care for her, to help her, to keep her safe, but instead locked her away and harmed her.” Her mother added, “There is an empty space at our table, a silent bedroom in our home, a gaping hole in our family that will never be filled.”
The jury’s findings, as summarized by BBC and The Independent, were damning. They concluded that Ruth’s care was “not suitable nor conducive” to her recovery and that staff training was insufficient, violating the hospital’s own HR policy. The jury foreman told the court, “Ruth was not prevented from accessing the restricted material which could be used to self-harm.” Ruth was able to view harmful content online, and her care pathway was so inadequate that it prevented her from being considered for discharge.
Visiting restrictions further compounded the family’s anguish. Only one family member was allowed to visit Ruth at a time, and her parents were not given adequate information about her care, appeal process, or their rights to refuse treatment decisions. As Ruth’s father put it, “We were excluded and completely disempowered. She was isolated, scared and alone.”
Jodie Anderson of INQUEST, an organization supporting the family, called the jury’s verdict “a stark indictment” of children’s mental health services. “We must urgently confront the privatisation of children’s mental health, where professional inertia and a lack of accountability continue to place young lives at risk,” she said.
Active Care Group, in a statement following the inquest, extended its condolences and acknowledged the gravity of the incident: “We deeply regret the tragic event that occurred, and we are truly sorry for the distress this has caused and recognise the profound impact it has had on everyone who knew her. In recent years, we have made significant improvements to the quality and safety in all of our services.” The company emphasized its commitment to learning lessons from Ruth’s death and from other incidents across the NHS and independent sector “with the aim of preventing any future tragic incidents.”
The closure of Huntercombe Hospital in 2023, following investigations by Sky News and The Independent, marked the end of a troubled chapter for the facility. But for Ruth’s family and advocates, the fight for reform is far from over. “We hope that by sharing her story it can help inform the change needed in children’s mental health services,” said Mark and Kate Szymankiewicz. “Ruth was our daughter. But she could just as easily be your child, your niece or nephew, your grandchild.”
The inquest’s conclusion of unlawful killing—an unusual and highly significant finding—underscores the gravity of the failures that led to Ruth’s death. Unlike criminal cases, inquests reach their verdicts on the balance of probabilities rather than beyond reasonable doubt, but the jury’s decision amounts to a finding of gross negligence manslaughter by the agency worker responsible for Ruth’s care.
For many observers, Ruth’s case is emblematic of deeper, systemic problems in the UK’s mental health care for children. Understaffing, reliance on unvetted agency staff, poor communication with families, and lack of adequate safeguards for vulnerable patients all played a role in this tragedy. As Jodie Anderson and other campaigners have argued, meaningful change will require not just policy tweaks but a fundamental reassessment of priorities, oversight, and accountability in both public and private mental health provision.
Ruth Szymankiewicz’s life was cut tragically short, but her story has become a rallying point for families, advocates, and professionals determined to ensure no other child suffers a similar fate in the care of the very institutions meant to protect them.