A LACK of regular checks by staff at a psychiatric hospital in Bradford allowed a woman suffering from paranoid delusions the time to kill a fellow patient in her room, a court heard.

Rachel Bowen, 49, admitted the manslaughter of 52-year-old Linda Goswell when she appeared at Bradford Crown Court today via a video link from the high-security Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire.

They were both patients at the time on Denholme ward, a psychiatric intensive care unit at Cygnet psychiatric hospital in Bierley, when the incident took place on August 2 last year.

Post-mortem tests were consistent with Mrs Goswell having been smothered.

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Roger Thomas QC, ordered that Bowen be detained in hospital and imposed a restriction order too.

He said that both Mrs Goswell, of Halifax, and Bowen, of Bath, had been "let down".

The court heard that Bowen had entered Mrs Goswell's room on the ward shortly after 2.30am and stayed for 42 minutes undetected, and CCTV later showed that checks supposed to be carried out every 15 minutes had in fact not taken place during that period.

Mrs Goswell was found unresponsive by hospital staff at 5am and pronounced dead at 6am.

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A system of overnight checks on patients at the hospital should have prevented Bowen from being in Mrs Goswell's room "perhaps at all and certainly for that length of time", Judge Thomas said.

The court heard that Bowen initially told a nursing assistant: "I think I did something bad last night. I killed that lady. I strangled her with my hands, I think."

Prosecutor Simon Phillips QC described how Mrs Goswell had suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder for a number of years before being admitted to the Cygnet Hospital at the end of July last year.

He also told the court that Bowen had been admitted to the same hospital a week earlier following an incident in which she stabbed a friend in the neck with a screwdriver while driving. There were no beds available in a secure unit near her home in Bath.

Only last week she told her doctor that she had a memory of the incident, saying: "When I went to her room I knew if I didn't kill her I'd be killed myself and tortured," Mr Phillips said.

The court also ahead that Bowen had suffered from an earlier episode of psychosis in 2012 where she had jumped about 30ft from the roof of a block of flats in Bristol, suffering serious injuries as a result. It emerged that she had not received any psychiatric assessment following this first incident, but that she has now been diagnosed with a paranoid delusional disorder.

Shaun Smith QC, for Bowen, said of the 2012 incident: "She was on that roof for nine hours before she jumped because she thought people were wanting to kill her."

"To think that after that she was offered no psychological treatment is concerning.".

A statement from Mrs Goswell's husband, which was read out in court, describes how he thought his wife would be safe in a hospital and that he hoped changes had been made.

Three members of staff were suspended after Mrs Goswell's death, one of whom was dismissed after disciplinary proceedings and another resigned.

Changes have also been made to working practices at the hospital, including regular audits of CCTV and amendments to corridor observation procedures.

A Cygnet spokesman said: "We will continue to work closely with NHS England and all relevant authorities to investigate the issues relating to this tragic incident."

The outcome of a mental health homicide serious case review and serious incident review are due next year.

After the case, Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Superintendent Simon Atkinson, said: "Linda Goswell's death was not only tragic, but was one which occurred under a unique set of circumstances.

"We believe the courts have taken the most appropriate action in ordering Bowen to remain in hospital care.

"Our thoughts remain with Linda's family and friends at this time."