Failure of care in community policy in the case of Martin Davies

Created: 2010-04-05 18:58:12

Comment from Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity SANE, on the case of Martin Davies, detained indefinitely today for the killing of Gwen Poole:

"It is quite staggering that a person taking antipsychotic medication for schizophrenia, and who has been described as 'highly dangerous', should be accompanied by a mental health team to a shop and allowed to buy vodka.

"Equally appalling is the failure of mental health services to respond to Martin Davies, who was known to hear voices commanding he harm himself and possibly others, yet was refused admission on several occasions to a hospital unit even when he pleaded for that safeguard. This left his brother to assume the day-to-day responsibility of caring for him.

"Cases such as this raise serious questions about the entire policy of care in the community for individuals as disturbed as Mr Davies. This appears to be an epic failure by psychiatric services to protect both the public and the patient. Two families have experienced profound tragedy and a grave disservice has been done to the thousands of people with serious mental illness who are never violent."

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