Son calls for change after dad's hospital suicide

The family of an elderly patient who took his own life at hospital after leaving a ward "undetected" have said lessons must be learned from his death.

James White, 88, from Wolverhampton, was found dead on the premises at the city's New Cross Hospital several days after he had been admitted for treatment in 2024. A verdict of suicide was recorded at his inquest last month.

His family, who stated White was struggling with his mental health, said improvements in communication and safety procedures were needed at the hospital.

Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust expressed condolences to the pensioner's family, adding it had involved his relatives in its investigation into the circumstances.

The trust also said it had co-operated with the coroner's inquest procedures.

White was admitted to the hospital's emergency department for treatment to injuries on 9 October 2024 and was then transferred to a hospital ward, with events thereafter the focus of his family's concerns.

According to the Black Country Coroner's record of inquest, White on 12 October, "while an inpatient" left "the ward unnoticed", going on to unlock a door to an area not meant for patients. He was found dead the same day.

"He wasn't supported as someone that was suffering [with] their mental health, and he wasn't closely monitored - he was able to get off the ward that he was on undetected," said daughter-in-law, Lyndsey White.

Her husband Peter White, son of the deceased, added the family also had concerns with regard to the hospital's care prior to the 88-year-old's departure from the ward.

Describing his father as "intelligent, independent and private", he said: "We didn't feel like we were listened to very well - we kept asking the questions... when he was going to be assessed, how he was doing, and we didn't really get the answers we were looking for."

Sharing his hope that his father's circumstances may lead to change, he said: "If there is anything good that needs to come out of this, it is that nobody else is going to go through this.

"For us it's too late now... but if it helps families further down the line, and it has taken something like this to highlight the failings... that's the only good that can come out of this - that it doesn't happen to anybody else."

The BBC has contacted the hospital trust for detail on the progress of its investigation.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story, please visit the BBC's Action Line.

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