Lauren Bridges: Out-of-area patient died in 'cry for help', inquest jury finds

Lauren Bridges was "left alone, far from home with no treatment", her mother said

A patient died after opportunities were missed to place her in a psychiatric hospital closer to her home, an inquest jury has found.

Lauren Bridges, 20, from Bournemouth, fatally harmed herself at Priory Hospital Cheadle Royal near Stockport, Greater Manchester, in February 2022.

She had previously begged to be removed from the hospital, the court heard.

Recording a conclusion of misadventure, the jury said her act was a "cry for help due to a lack of family contact".

Ms Bridges was "deeply distressed" after being moved 250 miles (400 km) from her home in Dorset, the court previously heard.

She was given one hour's notice of the transfer to Stockport from a locked ward in Dorking, Surrey, the hearing was told.

The 20-year-old begged to be removed from a hospital near Stockport two days before she died

The jury foreman, who was in tears during the inquest conclusion, said Dorset Healthcare had not recognised Ms Bridges' "exceptional circumstances".

He said the trust had admitted shortcomings in managing out-of-area patients, which may have resulted in "missed opportunities to offer Lauren a bed".

She would probably have benefitted from a move to Bournemouth where places were available in the week before her transfer, the foreman said.

Previously the inquest heard Ms Bridges, who was diagnosed with autism, had been treated at a series of different units since 2018.

She was "hysterical" when she was given an hour to pack before being transferred to the privately-run hospital in July 2021, the jury was told.

In November 2021, a Dorset occupational therapist raised concerns with her superiors that Ms Bridges was deteriorating and might be "trapped in a cycle without a move".

Ms Bridges' mother Lindsey said out-of-area treatment did not work for mental health patients

Outside the court, Ms Bridges' mother Lindsey said her "beautiful, kind" daughter had been "horribly failed" by the mental health system.

She said: "Sending mental health patients hundreds of miles from home to receive treatment does not work.

"Lauren didn't want to die. She was desperate to escape a hospital that was making her mental health worse.

"Our concerns and Lauren's requests to come home were ignored."

In a statement, Dorset Healthcare said: "We... fully accept that the systems we had in place to bring people back to Dorset and closer to home were not what they should have been at the time of Lauren's death.

"We profoundly regret that we could not respond to Lauren's need to be nearer to her home and her family.

"Our priority is to address the issues related to Lauren's tragic and untimely death."