His partner of 10 years, Helen Tarry, walked out of a locked mental health ward at Priory Hospital Arnold two Christmases ago. Dressed in just her nightwear and a gilet and suffering from severe paranoia and anxiety, the 52-year-old didn't stand much of a chance as she wandered into the near-freezing woodland.
They also said there were communication failures between the hospital and Nottinghamshire Police, adding both parties also missed opportunities to escalate the situation after she went missing. “It’s been incredibly difficult to accept all the failures," said Mr Mather, 52. Ms Tarry, who was sectioned under the Mental Health Act on December 13, was able to tailgate a health care assistant through two doors before tampering with a fire alarm and running outside into the car park at 10.18pm on Christmas evening. The jury said the staff did not take all reasonable steps to stop Ms Tarry from absconding.
While Mr Mather is hopeful about the changes, he said he felt as though his partner "had to die" before they were made. “We wouldn’t be able to look at anything positive if it wasn’t for Helen, they wouldn’t have realised," he said. "Helen had to die before they took action, why would they not have taken action before? That’s where the anger comes.”