Staff slept while patient killed at NHS mental health unit

Staff slept while patient killed at NHS mental health unit. "Saying mental health and well-being is important to us is very different to a board making decisions focused around how this is going to impact our staff.

What happened

Image caption, Emily Pearson has worked in the mental health arena for 27 yearsByDuncan LeatherdaleNorth East and CumbriaPublished10 September 2026Having devoted her life to improving people's mental health after her own struggles, Emily Pearson has set her sights on getting businesses to prioritise employees' well-being. See it as their problemImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Emily says everyone carries a metaphorical backpackThursday is World Suicide Prevention Day, an annual reminder of why appreciating mental health is so important, Emily says.

Companies have a legal duty of care for their employees, external, Emily, from Burnhope near Durham, says, which includes their mental as well as physical health and safety. She left school at 16 with no GCSEs, fell into "doing drugs and stuff", became a young single mother exposed to domestic violence and developed mental health issues including anorexia and panic disorder. In her early 20s she says she got help which not only saved her life but also inspired her to forge a career in mental health, from organising youth discos in Bishop Auckland to focusing on employers.

Workers' bosses can have "more of an impact on people's mental health and well-being" than they realise, Emily says. " Mental health leaders also need to be on a par with directors at the board level, Emily says, cultural change has to start at the top.

The wider picture

"We've seen mental health and well-being as just like very generic, a one size fits all approach," she says. Emily says a lot of businesses may feel they are "doing well", appointing mental health first aiders, holding awareness raising days, but "activity doesn't equal impact". Contact formContact formRelated topicsMental healthHealthCompaniesEmploymentBishop AucklandLanchesterDurhamMore like this'I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Hollyoaks'Published7 SeptemberSuicide bereaved carry Baton of Hope through cityPublished10 September 2025 But it should not just be seen as an onerous requirement, she says, as a healthier workforce means fewer days lost through sickness – almost 9% of workplace ill health in 2025 was stress related, according to the Office for National Statistics, external.

"Hear the workers' storiesImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Surveying staff to understand their stories is key, Emily saysKnowing what the problem is is the first step towards solving it, Emily says. Survey staff, listen to their stories, look at deeper cultural issues within the workforce to understand what needs to change. "Constant improvement means we keep up with the changes that are happening in our society, in our communities, in our jobs. Inquest hears how Rolando Torres-Pena, 22, was able to strangle and kill Hugo Flint-Cahan on a hospital ward in east London.

What has been reported

Stress and the significant impact it can have on people needs to be recognised by employers, she says. "Humans are still the main resource, and if the people are not there, you don't have a successful business," Emily says. Everyone wears a metaphorical backpack she says, filled with the stresses and concerns of life. Work "chucks in loads more weight", she says, and when a backpack becomes too heavy, people become unwell. "Any senior leader that has any kind of empathy and compassion for people won't want their business to be chucking weights into people's backpacks until they fall over," Emily says.

"Especially when there are things that you could actually do to help to actually take some of those weights out. "Understanding your demographics and your people is so important," Emily says. Emily knows the importance of story, having been motivated by her own.

What happens next

For 27 years she has worked in the arena, including most recently with the emergency services to try to improve the way issues such as trauma and stress are dealt with. She has gained a "unique perspective" from her own experiences, she says, which she wants to share in her new book Solving a CEO's Blind Spot: Human Sustainability. Give managers the capabilitiesImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Cultural change needs to begin in the boardroom, Emily saysData needs to be turned into strategy and the people doing that need to be capable, Emily says.

"People managers are a huge part of this," she says. "They're the ones who could be pushing the workload on, not supporting people, allowing bad behaviour to go on, not managing conflict well. "So they need the capabilities to understand their role in that and the authority to make the change. "Recognise the problem, analyse the problem, give someone the capability and accountability to deal with the problem.