Dr. Szymankiewicz, a GP, has described how her 14-year-old daughter Ruth died after being detained under the Mental Health Act at a privately run NHS-commissioned unit. Ruth was being treated for an eating disorder at Huntercombe Hospital in Berkshire when she fatally self-harmed on 12 February 2022 and died two days later at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
The mother recalled the moment she realised the ward felt like a prison: a sealed unit with no natural light, air-locked doors, and a policy that barred parents from the ward. Visiting was limited to one hour twice a week. Ruth had been moved there from a local hospital just 10 days after her 14th birthday.
Ruth was described as a vibrant, inquisitive child who loved nature, climbing trees, and reading. At age 11 she climbed Kilimanjaro with her father. Her mother said she could not understand how such a bright child ended up in a system that failed her.
Dr. Szymankiewicz said she still wakes at night reliving the moment she was locked out of the ward, clutching a paper detailing sparse visiting hours. She questioned how the health service she trusted as a GP could have let her daughter die.
Ruth died on Valentine's Day 2022. Her mother hopes that by speaking out, lessons will be learned to prevent similar tragedies.
