Mum says daughter was ‘her life’ but the ‘system failed her’
WHEN SHE REACHED OUT FOR HELP BETHAN WAS TOLD THERE WAS ONE-YEAR WAITING LIST
THE mother of a woman who hanged herself following battles with mental health issues and alcohol addiction has paid tribute to her, saying: “She was my life.”
An inquest into the death of Bethan Smith, 28, who was found in her home on Hardwick Avenue in Newark on April 30 last year, concluded yesterday.
She was found by her mother Lucy Millard at around 8am that morning, and ambulance crews arrived shortly after, but she was pronounced dead at 8.11am.
Miss Smith had left a note for her mother which read: “I’m so sorry, I can’t do this anymore.”
Assistant Coroner Gordon Clow gave his narrative verdict, and said that Miss Smith’s medical cause of death was that she had hanged herself.
Mr Clow added that she was not capable of making the decision to end her life because of excessive alcohol consumption, and that she had consumed so much alcohol that the level of intoxication itself could have killed her.
Mr Clow said the alcohol disinhibited her as she had previously been able to deal with thoughts of suicide and self harm after battling anxiety and depression for 10 years, and that her Crohn’s disease did not help with her ability to deal with her mental state.
Before Mr Clow gave his narrative verdict, mother Lucy Millard paid tribute to Bethan, telling the Post: “She was my life.
“She had a strong work ethic and hated to call in sick.
“She tried to reach out for help, and had three visits at the hospital.
“When she reached out to get help, she was told that there was a one-year waiting list.”
During proceedings this morning, Ms Millard, a former news editor for the Newark Advertiser, said: “For Bethan, the world was her oyster.
“She wanted to leave for university and I wanted to keep her close but she wanted to have a taste of life and off she went.
“Bethan suffered from anxiety and depression for ten years.
“The stress caused her a rash, and had problems with her sleep.
“She was lucky if she could get three hours of sleep at night.
“I feel like the system failed her.
“Above all, she loved her sister and her niece and the unborn baby.”
Ms Millard’s colleague from Newark Advertiser, Julia Jones, commended her friend’s strength through the process, and said a few words before Mr Clow delivered his verdict this afternoon.
Ms Jones said: “Lucy has been a friend of mine for around 40 years.
“She called me at 8am on the morning of her daughter’s death, and she’s made it clear throughout that she wanted change to help others in a similar situation.”
Dr Wathen – Miss Smith’s GP, with whom she had multiple interactions – acknowledged during the inquest that his professionalism may have came across as “rather cold”.
During his verdict, Mr Clow said: “Dr Wathen himself acknowledged that there were deficiencies, as well, in the quality of his interactions with Miss Smith.
“Dr Wathen indicated that this had been confirmed as an area where improvement was required within his appraisal and that he was going to attend training on these issues.”
Miss Smith was referred to the crisis team run by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
During the verdict, Mr Clow said: “The yrust’s initial investigation into Bethan Smith’s death was deficient.”
But he added: “This was remedied following input from the family and I heard very candid and careful evidence from Mr Thomas, service manager for the relevant area, and I was satisfied that he had identified appropriate areas for improvement and was acting on those.”
She tried to reach out for help and had three visits at the hospital Bethan’s mum, Lucy Millard