Sally Mays: New inquest ordered into death of young Hull woman

Sally Mays, 22, died at home in Hull on 25 July 2014, with an inquest taking place the following year

The parents of a vulnerable young woman who died after being refused admission to hospital have won a fresh inquest into her death.

Sally Mays, 22, who had mental health issues, died at home in Hull in 2014.

She had earlier been turned away by the Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust crisis team despite being considered a suicide risk, the High Court heard.

A spokesperson for the Trust said it accepted the High Court decision and would work with the coroner.

During a hearing on Wednesday, Bridget Dolan QC, on behalf of Ms Mays' parents, said a conversation between one of Ms Mays' care coordinators and a consultant psychiatrist on the day she died was "knowingly withheld" from the original inquest in October 2015.

She said the discussion revealed "a clear opportunity" to reverse the decision not to admit Ms Mays.

She added there was a "real possibility" the coroner's conclusion would have been "differently framed" if the withheld material had been available and examined.

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Her parents Andy and Angela Mays, pictured outside the High Court in London, say their daughter "deserved so much better"

The coroner at the time, Professor Paul Marks, said the decision not to admit Ms Mays constituted "neglect" which bore "a direct causal relationship to her death later that evening".

He said that she had been admitted following an initial assessment she "would have survived and not died when she did".

A further missed opportunity to save her life came from a 69-minute delay to an ambulance arriving at Ms Mays' flat after her 999 call was not categorised appropriately, the coroner said.

Prof Marks concluded that her actions after being turned away, which included an overdose, "undoubtedly caused her death" but "her intentions remain unknown".

However, Lady Justice Simler, sitting with Mrs Justice May and Judge Thomas Teague QC - the chief coroner for England and Wales - said that it was "necessary and desirable in the interests of justice" to quash the inquest and order a fresh one.

In her ruling, the judge concluded that "fresh" and "relevant" evidence was now available and that a new inquest was "likely to lead to additional findings of fact being made".

Speaking after the ruling, Ms Mays' mother, Angela, said: "All we've ever wanted is a full and fearless investigation into the facts of what happened to Sally in her final hours. This has yet to be achieved."

A spokesperson for the Trust said it would assist the coroner with the new inquest but was unable to comment further due to the ongoing legal process.