THE death of a woman who died while at a Rochford hospital as a detained inpatient was due to “misadventure”, a jury has concluded.

Sophie Alderman, 27, died on August 19, 2022, in her bedroom whilst under the care of Essex Partnership Trust (EPUT) at Willow Ward, Rochford Hospital.

After a seven-day hearing, a jury concluded that she died by “misadventure”.

Sophie has been described as a wonderful person with a massive heart and is sorely missed by her loved ones.

However, her family say they were left disappointed by the jury’s conclusion.

The jury returned a short form conclusion and did not give any context, or exploration of the wider circumstances of Sophie’s death.

Tammy Smith, Sophie Alderman’s mother, said: “While I am surprised and disappointed by the brevity of the jury’s conclusions, it was clear to me throughout the evidence that my daughter was failed by Willow Ward.

“What is most concerning to me is the lack of accountability from EPUT throughout this process.

“I wish that I could be confident that Sophie’s death would lead to real learning that would keep other families from experiencing the same tragedy.

“But to learn from an event, the first step is acknowledged where things went wrong, which throughout this process the Trust and its staff have failed meaningfully to do.”

On the day Sophie died, the jury heard evidence that she presented as distressed and highly agitated and told staff that she did not want to feel how she did.

Sophie’s responsible clinician gave evidence that, although he was not on the ward at this time, he would have expected the duty doctor to be contacted at this stage.

He added that had he been consulted, he would himself probably have raised Sophie’s observation levels.

Later than evening, at around 6.25pm Sophie was sadly declared dead.

Selen Cavcav, caseworker at INQUEST who had been supporting Sophie’s family, said: “What this inquest revealed is a mental unit which is chaotic and unable to keep vulnerable patients safe let alone provide therapeutic care to help support their recovery.

“The short conclusion of this inquest and absence of criticism takes nothing away from the fact that Sophie's death could have and should have been prevented.”

In response to the findings, Paul Scott, CEO at Essex Partnership University Trust (EPUT), added: “My deepest condolences remain with Sophie’s family, friends and loved ones following their tragic loss.

"EPUT provides services to more than 100,000 patients at any one time and our staff are focused on providing high quality care in often complex situations.

“We are committed to driving improvement across all our services so that we deliver the best possible care at all times.”