A MAN smashed a hospital window before plunging to his death after suffering from “hallucinations”, according to his grieving family. 

The family are now demanding answers from hospital bosses after alleged failings in the lead up to the death of the father-of-four. 

Aaron Deeley fell from a Southend Hospital window and died, with his family claiming he was left unsupervised despite assurances “he would be under 24-hour supervision”.

Mid and South Essex NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, have declined to explain why Aaron, who was suffering from depression and had been admitted a few days earlier following an attempted overdose, was left alone.

The trust says it has opened an investigation and will not be commenting further. 

The 43-year-old was admitted to A&E on Tuesday, where he was kept for 24 hours before being moved to the third-floor acute medical unit to treat severe liver damage. 

Echo:

Family man - Aaron

In the early hours of Friday morning, after sending a text to his wife Michelle, Aaron – believing he was going to be arrested and imprisoned – he punched his bedside window, shattering the glass, before falling to his death.

The Canvey father had been “hallucinating”, according to his wife’s sister Louise Collins, who said he was “not thinking straight” due to the drugs from his treatment.

She said: “I can’t even put into words our anger at the hospital. 
“We are absolutely disgusted. After being promised that he was going to be watched 24/7 we have been completely let down. What happened?

“They weren’t thinking of his mental health, it feels like they didn’t care despite being warned to watch him, and he was just left unsupervised to do that.

She added: “We feel absolutely devastated, there are just no words. He could have got better, had he been watched, he could have got better, he just didn’t get the chance.”

Michelle says she had been told by hospital staff Aaron would be watched 24/7.

However on the night he died, she claims the the security guard responsible for watching over him clocked off his shift at 9pm but was never replaced.

Louise added: “It’s so awful.

“We were telling Michelle ‘he’s alright, he’s safe, he’s in hospital, and that wasn’t true.” 

The trust has confirmed it has opened an investigation into the death; Essex Police is also investigating.