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Central Scotland News Agency
Liam Kerr died at the hospital less than a week after attempting to commit suicide
A teenager "shouted for support" with his mental health problems before he died in a young offender facility, a court said.
Liam Kerr is self-mutilated and attempted suicide at Polmont YOI in Stirlingshire in January 2017.
The 19 year old Paisley man died at the hospital less than a week later.
An investigation into a fatal accident found that staff did not agree with reports on mental health that his previous behavior was not psychotic.
Mr. Kerr was in Polmont on remand in connection with allegations that he stole a sandwich shop in Paisley.
The investigator learned that, during a previous admission, he was diagnosed with drug-induced psychosis and that his mental health needs were "complex".
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The teenager attempted suicide just hours after being seen by an NHS psychiatrist, who ruled out an immediate transfer to a psychiatric ward.
Polmont Warden Brian Ward, 48, said the officers in the unit where Mr. Kerr was detained were "totally discouraged" by the mental health response.
& # 39; Shout and inconsistent & # 39;
Mr. Ward said during the investigation at the Sheriff Falkirk Court: "He was shouting all the time, throwing food at his cell, saying that there were other people in his cell with him when he was not there, screaming and shouting all night.
"He seemed to talk to his grandfather every day, rubbing his body and head with toothpaste and entering what seemed to be an Irish accent." His screams were incoherent.
"It was 24 hours a day that Liam was behaving this way."
He added: "He was seen by a psychiatrist and a psychologist and we received information that it was behavioral, not psychotic, and we disagreed with that.
"My colleagues and I were totally discouraged by the reactions we had for him, we tried to deal with someone, to take care of them and all our experience was unsuccessful."
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SPS
Mr. Kerr was seen by a psychiatrist and a psychologist in Polmont
Psychiatric nurse Brian Leech said during the investigation that he was on duty the weekend before Mr. Kerr's suicide attempt when he was called to see him in the training yard.
Mr. Leech said, "He was screaming, giving no meaning to what I could see, and was walking up and down the yard."
He added that he had managed to calm the teenager and bring him back to his cell "in ruins".
The next day he saw him again and found him "screaming and screaming". Mr. Leech stated that he had taken medication to help him sleep and had arranged for the teen to be examined by another nurse the next day.
He said, "I thought that if he slept a good night on Sunday night, he might be different on Monday, but apparently he was not."
"No risk of suicide"
Mr. Leech stated that he had not activated the Scottish Prison Service's suicide prevention protocol, known at the time as Act To Care, because Mr. Kerr showed no sign that he was likely to self-harm or commit suicide.
The following week, Mr. Leech stated that he was present when Mr. Kerr was seen by Dr. Rosa Serrano, consultant psychiatrist of the NHS Forth Valley.
He said, "Liam was totally different from the one I had just seen on the weekend, he looked a lot worse, it made no sense, and you could not bring him back again for talk to him rationally. "
He said he understood that the psychiatrist was of the opinion that the condition of Mr. Kerr "was deteriorating" and that he was on antipsychotic treatment.
Mr. Leech said: "According to the doctor, hospitalization was not necessary at that time.The goal was to see if the antipsychotic drug would work."
The investigation was then heard by Mr. Kerr's brother, Sean, who stated that there had been a "lack of liaison" about the teen's history of mental illness.
Vulnerable detainees
Mr. Kerr, 28, said, "Liam was not himself, and there were reports that he was screaming for help.
"There should have been a plan of action, and I have a hard time understanding why there was no referral to the suicide prevention team."
The investigation before Sheriff Derek Livingston continues.
Last year, Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf commissioned an independent study on mental health services in Polmont.
He followed the death of a series of teenagers, which sparked public and parliamentary demands for an overly thorough investigation into how vulnerable inmates are treated.
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