STAFF at a mental health hospital knew the risks of patients escaping before a young woman left her ward twice on one day then was killed.

Nursing staff from Mill View hospital in Hove told an inquest into the death of patient Janet Müller that they were aware of patients trying to leave the Caburn Ward through the front door and by climbing over the garden wall.

Eastbourne student Janet escaped from the hospital where she had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act and was killed soon after.

She was found burned alive in the boot of a car near Ifield golf course.

Christopher Jeffrey-Shaw has been jailed for 17 years for manslaughter but a jury at Crawley Coroner’s Court is now set to make findings of fact about how she came to escape from Mill View hospital.

Zara Cane, the nurse in charge on March 12, 2105, when Janet escaped, said yesterday that a member of cleaning staff had seen Janet leaving the hospital reception area as she waked in.

She said patients had previously attempted to escape through the ward doors, sneaking out behind staff as they arrived for shifts.

She said: “When people come in to the ward they would come in as a group and sometimes patients would stand and wait behind the door so you couldn’t see them.

“I was aware of patients trying it.”

Staff later presumed Janet had escaped over the garden wall but when she was returned, having been found by police at Devil’s Dyke farm, there was “no discussion” between ward staff about what to do about the risk of the garden, the inquest was told.

Kirsty Heaven, representing Janet’s family, asked Ms Cane: “There recently had been cases of people jumping in and out over the garden wall and being on 15-minute observations did not stop people jumping over the wall?

“No, it did not,” Ms Cane replied.

“If you wanted to stop people getting out of the garden what would you do?” Miss Heaven asked.

“Lock the garden,” replied Ms Cane.

Senior mental health nurse David Sutton removed some plant debris from the garden, presuming that was how Janet had escaped.

She is thought to have walked out of the hospital’s front door, seen on her way by the estates and facilities administrator Chris Garwood leaving the reception area “crying and clearly upset”.

Later that same day she escaped for a second time.

Mill View unit co-ordinator Beverley Ryan-Hawes, who was in charge of all the wards and would be called in to help in a major incident or if a patient went missing, said: “I was told Janet may have gone over the garden wall.

“I was not aware she may have left through the front door.

“I was updated by the nurse in charge that the police had found Janet acting bizarrely and aggressively to a farmer and police were in the process of bringing her back. I advised putting her on eyesight observations and not letting her into the garden because that’s where it was assumed she had gone awol from.”

However fellow staff nurse Anthony Jones told the inquest he had seen Janet alone in the garden unobserved by staff shortly after Janet’s return. He said: “I was concerned.”

Mr Jones had rated Janet as a “high awol risk” when he was in charge on March 9.

The inquest continues.

CHECKS ON PATIENT WERE MISSED

JANET Muller should have been checked by staff every 15 minutes – but no one reported her missing until she had been gone for more than an hour.

She was supposed to have been under 15-minute observations on Caburn Ward at Mill View Hospital prior to her first escape attempt on March 12, 2015.

But the nurse watching her did not tell the senior nurse in charge of the ward for more than an hour.

Janet had been gone more than 90 minutes by the time police were called, her inquest was told yesterday.

When she returned to the hospital, nurses deliberated whether she should be kept constantly within the sight of staff but a decision was reached to keep her on intermittent observations.

In fact she was not properly observed as directed until 8am.

Senior ward nurse Zara Cane said she was told at 8.50am that Janet could not be located.

But nurse Tora Huston had been unable to find Janet since 7.45am and it was 9.15am by the time Ms Cane called the police, the inquest heard.

Once she was returned to the hospital the healthcare assistant tasked with watching Janet said she had not been told to check on her every 15 minutes – or that she had escaped earlier in the day.

Stephanie Zoutewelle said she had believed Janet was only supposed to be checked every hour.

She told the inquest: “I thought she was on general observations.

“I did see her notes said she had been on 15-minute observations earlier but I thought it must have been changed.

“I spoke to another healthcare assistant. They assured me she also didn’t think she was on intermittent observations.”

Ms Zoutewelle added that she had not been told Janet had gone missing earlier that day.

“I can’t recall that I was told she had gone awol. I think if I had been told I would have recorded that. To my knowledge I wasn’t told.”

Unit co-ordinator Beverley Ryan-Hawes said she had recommended Janet be placed on eyesight observations after her first escape attempt but she said the final decision came down to ward staff.

Ms Ryan-Hawes said she also recommended Janet be prevented from going into the garden.

Mental health nurse David Sutton assessed Janet on her return to Caburn Ward but said he was unaware of Ms Ryan-Hawes’ advice about the garden and did not document his assessment as he should have done.