Patient killed in hospital attack

The attack happened at Birch Hill Hospital

A 58-year-old mental health patient has died after being attacked at a hospital in Greater Manchester.

The woman, an in-patient at the open mental health psychiatric unit at Birch Hill Hospital in Littleborough, was assaulted on Monday evening.

She was taken to the Rochdale Infirmary but later died. A post-mortem examination is due to be carried out.

A 36-year-old man, also a patient at the hospital, has been arrested over the incident and remains in custody.

It is not known what treatment the male patient was receiving at the hospital.

The trust would wish to express our sincere condolences to the family and carers of the deceased Trust spokesman

Greater Manchester Police said they were called to reports of an assault at the hospital at about 1800 BST.

A spokesperson for Pennine Care NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, said staff had sought help to deal with a "patient incident".

"Staff on the ward administered first aid and resuscitation and an ambulance was called, sadly the patient was pronounced dead at Rochdale Infirmary," she said.

Facilities upgraded

"The trust is aware the police have arrested a man in connection with the incident."

Birch Hill provides inpatient mental health services for adults and older people and outpatient services for service users of all ages.

The services have been the subject of a £7m upgrade within the last 18 months and according to the trust spokeswoman, staffing levels have been increased across all services during this time.

Site security has been improved as part of the measures along with lighting, CCTV, fencing and modern personal safety systems for staff.

'Extremely rare'

Detectives launched a murder inquiry and trust staff are continuing to help police with their inquiries.

A "thorough review" is to be undertaken at the hospital following the incident, the trust spokesperson said.

"Incidents like this are extremely rare within mental health settings, and understandably this has caused distress to staff and patients," she added.

"The trust is ensuring that appropriate support is provided to all of those affected by the incident."