Mother died after NHS refused help, family says

Samantha Young made repeated pleas for extra NHS help, her family said

A mother repeatedly begged to be admitted to a mental health unit before taking her own life, her family has said.

Samantha Young, 49, was found dead at her home in Wickham, Hampshire, in November 2023, an inquest heard.

In a statement, her family said NHS mental health workers refused to help her three times in the last 10 days of her life.

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, known at the time of her death as Southern Health, said it was "profoundly sorry" for areas where its care fell short.

Ms Young, a teaching assistant, struggled for years with mental health issues and was under stress from marriage breakdown and relocation, according to a coroner's Prevention of Future Deaths Report.

Coroner Henry Charles said: "She had made many attempts – successfully so – to access medical treatment.

"She had done all she could to help herself and remain in the life of her daughter."

However, he said the NHS trust did not contact her family and friends while she was alive and had no firm plans to train agency staff to assess patients' level of risk.

Ms Young's family said: "We believe the trust's mental health team effectively assisted in the death of our sister.

"In the last 10 days of her life, unknown to the family, Sammy self-rescued by calling emergency and mental health services three times.

"She begged them to take her into hospital; to keep her safe and protect her daughter from her own painful experience of losing a parent to suicide.

"Three times members of the CMHT [Community Mental Health Team] refused Sammy's pleas for help and did not remove the means of suicide. This was after years of failing to offer Sammy treatment."

Law firm Leigh Day said NHS staff failed to properly assess Ms Young's risk or provide additional support.

It said she was instead provided with the number for an out-of-hours telephone line, which the inquest heard was not answered on several occasions.

The family's solicitor Julia Reynolds said: "Samantha was a much-loved and devoted mum to her daughter who should have received the support she was crying out for.

"It is quite remarkable the lengths that Samantha had gone to seek help. But that help was simply not provided.

"Her situation should have been escalated and her family should have been informed."

The NHS trust was given until 18 September to respond to the coroner's concerns.

In a statement, it said: "We are deeply saddened by Sammy's death and our thoughts are with her family and friends.

"Following this incident, we carried out a full investigation and have identified where our care fell short, for which we are profoundly sorry.

"We fully accept the findings of the coroner and are committed to doing everything we can to put in place the necessary changes to prevent anything similar happening again.

"This includes clearer risk assessment processes, stronger follow-up procedures and better involvement of families and carers."

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