A young mother from Lancashire has tragically taken her own life after suffering a traumatic event last year, with mental health services acknowledging that she had “some shortcomings” in her care.
Paula Halliday had not seen her two young girls since an accident in October 2021, and in a number of cases she had taken overdoses and said she wanted to end her life. The 33-year-old, who was born in Buckinghamshire, where her family still lives, was being monitored by mental health services at the time, LancsLive reported.
An investigation into her death in the Coroner court in Preston on Thursday (April 28th) revealed that there were “gaps in her care”. Paula, an assistant nurse who worked for the University Hospitals of Morecambe NHS Foundation Trust, began seeing Amy Cooper in September 2021.
READ MORE: TK Maxx employee explains why buyers should always look for number “2” on price tags
“I called the crisis team once when she was texting me at night because she was just out of her mind and didn’t know what to do,” said Miss Cooper. “She drank a lot, every day. In October 2021, something happened in London and she was quite traumatized by it.
“She met with someone from the mental health team every week and they called her every other day to check on her, but she was disappointed with them and said they were not listening. She always saw someone different, so she had to keep an eye on what happened every time, and she found that really disturbing. “
Samantha Ferguson, a trustee at Lancashire Care, which is part of the NHS Foundation in Lancashire and Southern Cumbria, which provides mental health services, admitted that there have been several failures in Paula’s care. The investigation found that the team was reluctant to start any psychiatric treatment or medication until Paula was able to reduce her alcohol intake.
“The broadcasts were not always fully completed and the risks were not always discussed,” the matron said. “It was sporadic. Some people had to review the notes to get acquainted with her. She saw different people in her meetings face to face, which is not perfect.
“What we wanted to do better was not necessarily more face-to-face meetings, but better documented phone calls and the ability to escalate higher evidence of risk. And more face-to-face contact would be expected, given the high level of risk. “
The investigation, which was attended by a large number of Paula’s friends and relatives, found that a number of changes had been made to the trust, including plans to increase staff and issue stricter guidelines for handing over patients during morning meetings. Staff are also trained in the importance of clinical curiosity, documenting clinical history and risk assessments.
Claire Gibson, a consultant nurse at LSCFT, apologized to Paula’s family for the shortcomings in her care. She added: “I want to apologize because there were some omissions and I’m really sorry.”
On the morning of January 13 this year, Miss Cooper had driven to Paula’s house to pick her up and take her to work. Although Paula had not responded to any of her texts, this was “normal” given how hard Paula drank.
Amy then entered the house in Morecambe, where she found Paula dead. She had left a number of notes, including one that simply said, “It’s my time.”
Returning to the conclusion of suicide, investigator Richard Taylor said he was pleased that Paula had committed an intentional act with the intention of ending her life. “Of course, she was at high risk and her disappointment that she didn’t get the treatment she wanted is understandable,” he added.
“She didn’t get confused in the notes she left. It was thoughtful and thoughtful. The fact that so many people are here today shows how much she misses and loves her.”
A GoFundMe page created after Paula’s death raised £ 730 in her name for the NSPCC. Friends posted their respects to her in the comments, with one describing her as a “very special person” and another saying she was a “beautiful lady.”
Subscribe to the Mancunian Way newsletter to get an in-depth look at the greatest stories of our region every weekday
Read more related articles Read more related articles
Add Comment