Ex-partner's anger as South Yorkshire Police admit 'missing person' error before Barnsley man found dead

A South Yorkshire Police investigation has admitted a mistake was made over their handling of a report of a ‘missing’ man, later found dead.

Concerns were raised about the wellbeing of Ricki Gillatt last May, after a relative was unable to get any response from him at his front door, several days after he had last been seen alive, says his ex, Mark Giles, who was still friends with him.

But Mr Giles, himself a former police officer, is angry that when he himself rang up with concerns for Ricki, he was told to call 111, after police had adopted a Right Care, Right Person’ policy, intended ‘to ensure those requiring urgent mental health support receive timely care from the most appropriate agency’.

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Mr Giles says it took five hours to get a response from South Yorkshire’s emergency services, and when they arrived at the scene and finally got into his flat, on Pleasant View, Cudworth, Barnsley, Ricki, aged 36, who had suffered mental health problems, was found dead.

Now police bosses say they believe that the force had not handled the call corrected - although officials do not believe the error affected the tragic outcome for Ricki.

In a response to Mr Giles, South Yorkshire Police Professional Standards department wrote back to him and said they do not now believe his call was handed correctly.

They wrote to him: “Some information is missing from the report and from the call it is clear this should have been recorded as a missing person. Although this ultimately would not have changed the outcome, it should have nevertheless been dealt with instead of advising you to contact 111.”

It added: “Finding: The service provided by the police was not acceptable.”

Mr Giles said: “This outcome letter proves that The Right Care Right Person Policy let Ricki down that day.

“If it was treated as a missing person like I requested that day, the response would have been completely different and there would have been no need to waste my time calling NHS 111, and then another three hours for an ambulance. If it’s a missing person then it’s a police response. I’m totally disgusted.

“This policy has cost its first life.”

South Yorkshire Police said in a statement: “We would like to express our ongoing sympathies to Mr Giles following the tragic loss of his ex-partner last year.

“We can confirm the force has received two complaints from Mr Giles and have provided responses to these following internal reviews. Mr Giles later referred our responses to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for further review.

“In relation to the first complaint, the IOPC concluded that the service level we provided was acceptable and therefore the outcome of the complaint was reasonable and proportionate. The second complaint response has been submitted to the IOPC in recent days and we are awaiting the outcome of their review.

“Right Care Right Person (RCRP) is a national model implemented collaboratively with our partners in the health and social care sectors, to ensure the vulnerable people and members of our community receive the right care and support from the right agency in relation to welfare, medical and social care issues.

“Our call handlers have received internal training to better assess calls for service, understanding what support is needed for that individual and if the police are the best agency to provide this.

“Protecting vulnerable people and keeping them safe remains our number one priority and we are committed to ensuring anyone in need is given the most appropriate support.”