The nurse responsible for psychiatric care at the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute (MWI) assured a patient's family he would be safe only hours before he was found hanging.

Thirty-five-year-old Shandal Richardson was found with a bedsheet tied around his neck in the early hours of March 5, 2008.

Nurse Michael Looby is the team leader in the Somers Annex Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit at MWI. He told an inquest into Mr. Richardson's death that he had at least two conversations with the patient's family members and in both instances told them he would be all right.

Mr. Looby said: "I remember I spoke to either the mother or aunt when Shandal was still in the observation room. The mother was still trying to speak with Shandal, making him feel okay, comfortable. And at the time I reassured Shandal and the mother he would be okay.

"The second time [was] as the family was leaving. I reassured them Shandal would be okay and explained that coming to a new environment you need to be made [to] feel comfortable."

Mr. Richardson was admitted to MWI on March 4, 2008 after he attempted to stab himself with a knife at his home in Southampton. While there, his family believed he would be placed under constant observation for 72 hours, in a secluded room with only a mattress and urinal bucket.

However at some point after his family left, Mr. Richardson was moved into a furnished room with another patient, where he was routinely observed. He was found hanging in the early hours of the following day.

Lawyer Victoria Pearman, who represents the Richardson family, asked Mr. Looby if he helped the family fill out a consent form.

She asked: "Following a suicide attempt, would you expect you would give assurances to family members of safety of a loved one being put in hospital care?"

Mr. Looby replied: "Irrespective of a suicide attempt, clients would be reassured [they] are in a place of safety." He couldn't be sure, however, whether he or another nurse helped the family fill out the forms.

Ms Pearman suggested that Mr. Looby actually told the patient's mother, Olivia Carter, that her son would be monitored "very closely" for 72 hours. Mr. Looby replied: "What I can say is that...a client can be kept in hospital for a period of 72 hours for close observation."

The nurse insisted that Mr. Richardson had been cared for: "In fact, he was watched very closely, all new admissions are."

The hearing continues before Coroner Juan Wolffe this morning.