ALERT ON DEATHS AT TOXIC FACILITY

Insider claims Jake Llewellyn, 26, died after being given too big a dose of sedatives at Forth Valley

- VIVIENNE AITKEN Health Editor

A WHISTLEBLOWER has spoken out after it emerged the death of a mental health patient at a hospital is being probed by police.

The staff member has raised concerns about the facility at Forth Valley Royal Hospital and its ability to safeguard vulnerable patients.

The mental health worker told how Jake Llewellyn, 26, was restrained and sedated after he was involved in a violent incident at the hospital in Larbert, Stirlingshire.

Jake later died amid claims he was given too big a dose of sedatives to calm him down after being restrained.

The whistleblower said: "Jake was admitted unwell and was violent.

"He was restrained very forcefully and left on a restraint pod for hours while being sedated with injections.

"He was meant to be on 2:1 observations and despite showing signs of over-sedation and respiratory issues, he was left by the staff watching him until he went into respiratory arrest and stopped breathing. This is currently being investigated.

Police confirmed it is investigating Jake's death on May 17 last year, eight days after he was admitted.

Last night Lib Dem leader and health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton said the allegations were "some of the worst I have ever heard in terms of failures of care in mental health within our NHS".

And he said there needs to be "an immediate and comprehensive investigation".

He added: "My thoughts are with the people in Forth Valley who are not getting the mental health care they need and their families."

Student Jake, 26, died of a heart attack in the intensive psychiatric care unit of the hospital.

Jake was bipolar and had struggled with his condition for years. In 2016 he was admitted to hospital and assaulted a doctor, believing in his mental state that he was under attack himself.