Open verdict in plunge death case

An open verdict has been returned by an inquest jury on a depressed woman who plunged to her death from a fourth floor hospital window.

Margaret Jukes, 57, died of a broken neck after falling 35ft onto a flat roof at Selly Oak Hospital last March.

The jury found there had been a failure in the care provided to her.

Family members told the three-day hearing they had warned nursing staff Mrs Jukes was at risk of suicide and needed to be monitored closely.

Her son, Paul, said she had become depressed after taking voluntary redundancy from her job as a machinist in February 2004.

We always believed this wasn't my mother's intention. She was a loving mother Victoria Coleman, daughter

Two weeks later her family discovered Mrs Jukes, of Marston Green, had bought 96 paracetamol tablets, apparently with the intention of killing herself, and she was taken to see her GP.

She was prescribed tranquillisers but just two days later she cut her wrists so deeply she needed surgery to repair tendons.

Mrs Jukes was admitted to Heartlands Hospital, in Birmingham, before being transferred to Selly Oak.

The jury's verdict stated: "It's evident there was a failure of adequate communication" regarding the definition and level of observation the "high risk self-harm" patient required.

"This failure contributed to the death of Mrs Jukes," it said.

Outside Birmingham Coroners' Court on Thursday her daughter Victoria Coleman said: "I am pleased that the jury were aware there was some failure in the nursing that contributed to the death of my mother.

"We always believed this wasn't my mother's intention. She was very family-orientated, she was a loving mother."

The family's solicitor, Louise Hunt, said the hospital had already accepted liability in a civil case brought against them.

She said compensation may be agreed within two weeks.

A statement from University of Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said its staff deeply regretted the circumstances of Mrs Jukes's sad death and a detailed internal inquiry has been conducted.