MENTAL health bosses have vowed to do more for the physical well being of their patients after a 29-year-old man died in their care.
Michael Russell, an artist and writer, died after developing deep vein thrombosis while wheelchair-bound at the Ashurst Ward, at Oxford's Littlemore Hospital.
Before being admitted to the hospital Mr Russell, who lived in Kidlington, had fractured his heel after accidentally falling from a window at a friend’s home in Reading.
His family said he had been sectioned at the psychiatric hospital under the Mental Health Act after a spell of paranoia.
An inquest held at Oxfordshire Coroner’s Court on Friday heard Mr Russell died on June 20, 2010, as a result of deep vein thrombosis leading to a pulmonary embolism.
The 29-year-old spent most of the two weeks he was at the hospital immobilised in a wheelchair.
The inquest was told on the Ashurst Ward the staff failed to appropriately mobilise him.
A verdict of death by misadventure was returned.
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Littlemore Hospital, refused to say whether any disciplinary action had been taken against any staff members in relation to Mr Russell’s death.
Spokesman Emma Heath said a number of changes had since been made “to further improve the support given to patients with physical healthcare needs.”
Last night Mr Russell’s mother Janet Richards, of Kidlington, spoke of her “quiet and unassuming son”.
She said: “This has been very, very difficult for our family. Michael had a good family around him and we feel let down, big time.
“Michael was a very likeable and unassuming young man with great capabilities.
“He was a wonderful artist and writer and he was cut down in his prime basically. “
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