Sally Mays: New inquest into death of woman denied hospital admission

Sally Mays, 22, died at home in Hull on 25 July 2014

A fresh inquest will examine whether there was a "further missed opportunity" to prevent the death of a woman who was refused hospital admission, a coroner said.

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

The original 2015 inquest was quashed by the High Court in December after it emerged information had been withheld.

Hull Coroner's Court heard a conversation between NHS workers would be examined in the new proceedings.

The conversation took place in a car park between psychiatric nurse Laura Elliot, who was seeking urgent admission for Ms May, and consultant psychiatrist Dr Kwame Fofie, on the morning of her death on 25 July 2014.

Senior Coroner Professor Paul Marks said he would decide whether the conversation "represented a further missed opportunity" to assess and admit the vulnerable young woman after summarising the previous eight-day inquest.

Recapping his original conclusion, Prof Marks said Ms Mays suffered a "tragic and untimely death" due to "neglect".

"She was inappropriately assessed, not treated with appropriate respect or dignity, was not reassessed after being restrained as she should have been or after showing increasingly worrying self-harming behaviour," he said.

"Had admission occurred after her initial assessment or following the further two missed opportunities, she would have survived and not died when she did."

Parents Andy and Angela Mays have been campaigning for years to quash the original inquest

Ms Mays, who had long-standing psychiatric issues and was diagnosed with severe borderline personality disorder, was turned away by the Humber NHS Foundation Trust crisis team on the day of her death despite a "grave concern of self-harm", the inquest heard.

Prof Marks said there were also failures with the emergency response, as Ms Mays' 999 call was not categorised appropriately and paramedics were delayed in arriving at her home.

The original inquest was quashed following a lengthy campaign by Ms Mays' parents, Andy and Angela Mays.

At the time High Court judges heard how, in a conversation, Ms Elliot explained to Dr Fofie what had happened and appeared upset. The consultant reassured Ms Elliot "everything would be all right and Sally Mays would settle down or be picked up by a service".

Giving evidence in court on Monday, retired nurse Debbie Barratt said she had learned of the conversation during an informal chat with the nurse and had made a note of the information.

The inquest continues.