A MOTHER has slammed a mental health trust after an inquest found it failed her daughter who escaped from hospital and was later killed.

University of Brighton student Janet Muller, 21, died after escaping from Mill View mental health hospital in Hove in March 2015, where she had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Her body was found in a burnt-out Volkswagen Jetta near Ifield Golf Club and last year Christopher Jeffrey-Shaw was found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for 17 years.

Speaking outside West Sussex Coroner’s Court in Crawley her mother Ramona Müller described Janet’s time at the hospital as “a nightmare”.

In a statement, read by her solicitor Charlotte Haworth Hird, she said: “Janet was unwell and needed the hospital and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to take good care of her. Instead of that, Janet’s last few days were a nightmare.

“We are grateful to the jury for recognising the numerous failures which were made and critically that no steps were taken to ensure that Janet could not leave the hospital a second time.

“Janet’s death could have been prevented. We ask the NHS to learn that patients in care must be kept safe. The circumstances in Janet’s case must not happen again.”

The inquest was tasked with determining the circumstances that led to Janet being detained at Mill View and how she came to escape.

The jury concluded Janet had been unlawfully killed and they gave a narrative verdict identifying failings in risks assessments and record keeping by the trust.

The inquest also heard that two other patients had absconded since Janet’s death

West Sussex senior coroner Penelope Schofield said: “The jury clearly identified failings in the way the trust cared for Janet.

“The trust has carried out an investigation and a number of changes have been made and the garden wall increased in height.

“But I have a duty to record my concerns to prevent further deaths. The jury identified failings in respect of communication, record keeping and assessing risk. Patients are still absconding and it does concern me that patients are not being protected.”

Trust bosses said they had sincerely apologised to Ms Muller’s family and friends.

Dr Gurprit Pannu, consultant psychiatrist and clinical and service director for Brighton and Hove, said: “We have made changes following our own internal investigation, which has included improving our security arrangements at Mill View.

“Ms Muller’s death was also included in an independent review of homicides we commissioned and published last year to make sure we embed the learning from incidents in a way that helps us improve the services we provide.

“That said, the fact remains that Ms Muller left hospital without permission while under our care.

“As clinical director responsible for our services in Brighton and Hove, I take personal responsibility for making sure we reduce the risk of anything like this happening again. As an NHS trust, we will reflect on the points the coroner has made today and make sure we respond to the concerns she has raised.”

The Argus: Dr Gurprit Pannu, consultant psychiatrist and clinical and service director for Brighton and HoveDr Gurprit Pannu, consultant psychiatrist and clinical and service director for Brighton and Hove

ONLY ONE QUALIFIED NURSE ON DUTY

JANET Müller came to the UK from Berlin to study international business management at the University of Brighton in Eastbourne in September 2012.

Janet had been smoking skunk cannabis heavily before starting to suffer strange behaviour and psychotic episodes.

She was first taken to Mill View hospital in Hove in March after being found naked at Eastbourne railway station.

She was sectioned under the Mental Health Act but escaped twice on March 12, 2015.

Janet’s sister told the jury she had seen patients openly smoking cannabis in the hospital garden from which her twin later escaped.

Nursing staff told the inquest they knew the risks of patients escaping through the hospital’s front door and by scaling the garden wall in Caburn Ward.

But they said Janet was not stopped from going in the garden when she was returned to the ward after her first escape attempt on March 12.

Only one qualified nurse was on duty when Janet escaped from Caburn for the second time that day, Naomi O’Mahony.

She said Janet had been distressed after 9pm – but at the time she was busy dispensing night time medication so only briefly saw her to calm her.

Police said Christopher Jeffrey-Shaw was a complete stranger to Janet. She was last seen on CCTV at about 1.13am on March 13.

At 2.40pm her body was found so disfigured she could not be identified for three more days.