Lewis Pollard: 'Delay' in treating unresponsive Broadmoor patient

Lewis Pollard died at the high-security Crowthorne psychiatric facility aged 26 on November 6, 2019 after suffering from heart failure.

The Sussex-born patient, who lived in Wales during his childhood, appeared unresponsive and lying face-down at 10pm on November 5.

Three staff members and a nurse were unable to establish from outside his room whether Lewis was breathing and none of them felt they were permitted to open the door to treat him.

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It was alleged the delay in treating the 26-year-old came as staff felt Lewis was 'pretending' to be ill.

Permission was finally given to open the door at 10.43pm and CPR was administered at 10.55pm.

Paramedics arrived at 11.14pm but Lewis could not be resuscitated and he was declared dead at 0.29am on November 6.

His medical cause of death was cardiac arrest.

Lewis's mother, Claire Campbell, said: "I will be forever haunted by the all too vivid image of my son being left to die in the fear and anguish he must have suffered.

"I hope this never ever happens again to another family."

Broadmoor Hospital in Crowthorne

She was speaking at the inquest into the death of her son, which got underway at Reading Town Hall on Wednesday, December 1.

The inquest is being heard in front of a jury and is expected to last up to 8 days as a number of live witnesses are set to give evidence.

Who was Lewis Pollard?

Lewis was born in Shoreham-on-Sea in 1992 but moved to Wales aged six.

He first developed signs of mental illness when he was in Year 7 and in his early teenage years he would take skunk, a strong form of cannabis, which would often exacerbate his mental health issues.

When he was 17 he was admitted to hospital under the Mental Health Act after suffering from paranoia and delusions.

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He would spend time in and out of hospitals being treated for psychosis and was involved in more than 100 incidents of assault and abuse against fellow patients and staff members at the facilities where he stayed before he moved to Broadmoor in September 2016.

Here, his behaviour would fluctuate and he would self-harm, expose himself, urinate and smear his faeces, tell staff he was a demon and would be seen talking to 'unseen stimuli'.

He would become obsessed with protecting himself with holy water and became suicidal October 2018, according to a statement from his psychiatrist Dr Joanna Dow.

But before his death in November 2019, Lewis had showed signs of improvement in his behaviour and his mother said he was 'full of hope and optimism'.

He was given more freedoms and began purchasing more chocolate as this was 'one of the only things he enjoyed', his mother claimed.

His weight ballooned, however, and he was declared overweight prior to his death.

What happened on the evening of his death?

A staff member was checking on patients every 15 minutes on the evening of November 5.

The staff member saw Lewis lying on his mattress at 9.15pm. At 10pm the staff member noticed Lewis lying face down on his bed and was unable to establish whether he was breathing.

The on-site nurse was immediately called but again was unable to establish whether Lewis was breathing looking in from the hatch on his door.

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Two more staff members were unable to determine Lewis's state and the door to his room was not opened as none of the attending employees 'felt they were able or permitted' to open the barrier.

Eventually, staff entered Lewis's room at 10.50 pm after gaining permission and administered CPR at 10.55pm.

Paramedics arrived at 11.14 pm but Lewis could not be revived and he was declared dead just after midnight.

What did pathologists have to say about his death?

A post-mortem revealed Lewis's medical cause of death was cardiac arrest.

There was no evidence to suggest organ failure, drug use or trauma contributed to his death.

Investigations from top pathologists revealed two contrasting points of view about whether the delay in getting to Lewis contributed to his death.

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Dr Richard Keays, a consultant in Intensive Care Medicine and Anaesthesia, said the "significant delay" could have impacted on the "likelihood" of him surviving.

However, Dr Tim Cripps, a consultant cardiologist, said Lewis had a cardiac condition that meant it would not have been possible to attend to him quickly enough to 'achieve a successful resuscitation.'

What did Claire Campbell, Lewis's mother, have to say?

Ms Campbell said Lewis was 'warm, funny and kind'.

Speaking about his passing, Ms Campbell said she was "at a complete loss" as to how her son came by his death.

When it was put to her that Lewis should be transferred to Broadmoor Hospital in 2016, she claimed she was "not happy about this because of the portrayal [of the hospital] in the media."

The issue of why Lewis did not receive an MRI scan or see a neurologist after it was recommended he do so following a series of seizures in 2018 was also raised.

Following signs of improvement in his mental health in mid-to-late 2019, Lewis was given more freedom and would frequent the hospital shop to buy chocolate.

He was assigned a dietician, however, when his size increased rapidly and his weight increased to 20 stone.

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Ms Campbell said: "I do not find it acceptable that Lewis was not prevented in any way of this huge and unhealthy weight gain."

Lewis's mother said her 'hope' of her son's continued behavioural improvements was 'shattered' when he passed away.

The inquest heard that she was informed of her son's death later in the morning of November 6 when she called Broadmoor Hospital.

In the days after his passing, Ms Campbell was handed six health reports pertaining to Lewis.

Four of them showed he had abnormal heart issues, she claimed.

She questioned why he was left for "so long" on his own before he was treated on the evening of his death.

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Ms Campbell told the jury that after her son's death, a staff member at Broadmoor informed her that those responding to Lewis's condition on November 6 felt he was "pretending to be ill."

She said: "This was completely indefensible to me and I feel my son was robbed of the chance to receive life-saving treatment.

"I have lost my only child. My life has changed irrevocably. I rarely sleep and when I do I wake up with a stabbing pain.

"Nothing can bring Lewis back but I need to seek the truth and understand what happened to my son.

"I will be forever haunted by the all too vivid image of my son being left to die in the fear and anguish he must have suffered.

"I hope this never ever happens again to another family."

The inquest is set to continue at Reading Coroner's Court tomorrow (December 2).