The student nurse was last seen by her family on July 4, who reported her missing to Essex Police two days later. But Guy’s and St Thomas’s Foundation Trust (GSTT), where Ms Davies worked, did not share the information across the organization until August 4. That delay has drawn criticism from colleagues of Ms Davies who say it is at odds with the trust’s handling The disappearance of Petra Srncova last Decembera white nurse’s aide, when she sent an internal email within days of the employee’s disappearance. NHS staff told the Independent they were concerned about the trust’s “inadequate” response and lack of urgency to Ms Davies’ disappearance, adding that the only difference between her case and Petra’s was race. GTTS denies that this played a factor in making decisions about the communications. “The trust’s approach is not right. We immediately heard about the disappearance of Petra Srncova last year – she is white. Owami is the second staff member who has gone missing in eight months and we have barely heard anything from the trust,” said a GTTS staff member, who did not want to reveal his identity to the public. “They should have been in that right from the start, particularly because the very early stages of missing persons cases are often the most critical.” Questions were also raised about when the GSTT was first told that Ms Davies was missing, as different groups appeared to be aware of different information at different points. A well-placed source told the Independent that trust bosses knew within two weeks of Ms Davies’ disappearance, but claimed they “made up” the information, neglecting to alert fellow trusts for a further two weeks. Owami Davies has been missing since July 4th (PA/Brochure) The trust’s placement team also failed to report that Ms Davies had not turned up for shifts more than a week after she disappeared, the Independent said. GSTT has not denied it. Before Ms Davies was last seen by her family on July 4, she was nearing the end of her studies at King’s College London and had secured a job with the trust. However, sources confirmed the job was not secured and her job offer was withdrawn by the trust while she was away. A source with knowledge of the matter told The Independent that GSTT’s recruitment team did not know he was missing until August 4, when the email was sent around the world. As a result, he was sending emails about the job offer to Ms Davies in the expectation of a response while police inquiries were ongoing. When she failed to respond, she was sent an automated job rejection email around August 4 informing her that she no longer had long-term job prospects there. Nursing assistant Petra Srncova went missing in December and her colleagues were alerted days later (Family Leaflet/PA) Staff fear this may have caused Ms Davies, who police described as “vulnerable”, further distress if she was still viewing emails. A spokesman for Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust confirmed the job offer was withdrawn due to an automated system when no response was received, but said “once this was discovered we very quickly reinstated the job offer which remains open”. The trust’s handling of the matter is not just about race, a GSTT official said, because there is not enough clarity around the trust’s responsibilities should student nurses like Ms Davies go missing. “However, the trust has long-standing and well-documented challenges with how it treats minority staff,” the official continued. Ms Davies failed to turn up for work after being reported missing, but this was not flagged by the departments where she worked (PA File) “The GSTT, when they knew there was a concern, could and should have handled it very differently and it feels like everything they’ve done has been an afterthought to tick a box.” A spokesman for campaign group Equality 4 Black Nurses told the Independent that “the NHS’s treatment of Owami is a snapshot of a wider problem within the service”. “Black nurses are not heard, undermined, oppressed, targeted, intimidated and often harassed within the organization,” they said. “Nursing is the most trusted profession in the world, but not if you’re a Black nurse.” A spokesman for Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust added: “We are devastated by the disappearance of our colleague Owami Davies and strongly deny any suggestion that we would have treated her disappearance differently based on her race. “There are always many factors involved in an ongoing missing person case and we are working closely with the police to support their investigation, along with King’s College London, where Owami is a student. “Colleagues working alongside Owami were informed and offered support as soon as we were made aware of her disappearance and we sent an email to all our staff on Thursday 4 August, following the Met Police’s first press release on Saturday 30 July.”
