A health board has been fined more than £60,000 after it was prosecuted over the death of a patient who took his life at a psychiatric hospital.
NHS Grampian has been ordered to pay a total of £64,500 after pleading guilty to breaches of health and safety legislation in relation to the case of 40-year-old patient, Vincent Mulsant.
Mr Mulsant, a musician, died at the Royal Cornhill Hospital in Aberdeen on March 28 2020.
The hospital is the main centre in the north-east of Scotland for treating patients with mental health problems.
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Mr Mulsant had been admitted to the hospital on December 31 2019, but had succeeded in absconding from the ward in two separate incidents on 19 and 22 February.
This resulted in him being placed under constant supervision.
However, an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that NHS Grampian had failed to ensure the patient was not exposed to risks to his health and safety having been clinically assessed as being at significant risk of suicide or self-harm.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that, on March 28 2020, two staff members found Mr Mulsant lying on the bathroom floor.
Despite their efforts and those of paramedics in attendance, Mr Mulsant was pronounced dead at the scene.
As a result of this incident, changes have been made to the management of in-patient wards within Royal Cornhill Hospital.
On August 8 this year, NHS Grampian pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Sheriff Morag McLaughlin fined the health board £60,000, plus an added victim surcharge of £4,500, which helps victim support organisations.
Sheriff McLaughlin said: "No size of penalty can adequately reflect or compensate for the loss suffered by Mr Mulsant’s family as a result of this tragic incident.
"They ought reasonably to have been able to assume that Mr Mulsant was safe from the risk that he otherwise posed to himself.
"It is difficult to comprehend fully the devastation they must have felt and must continue to feel at his loss, which was clearly preventable and the impact of which I can only begin to imagine."
Speaking after the case an HSE spokesperson said: “This tragic case highlights the need for suitable and sufficient systems to be put in place to ensure that vulnerable patients are kept safe while they are in hospital.”
An NHS Grampian spokesperson said: "We apologise unreservedly for the failings which led to this tragic incident. Lessons have been learned and significant improvements made as a result.
"However, we remain deeply sorry to the family of Mr Mulsant for their loss."
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