Tragedy of single mum who struggled to care for disabled daughter
ASINGLE mother who killed herself after struggling to care for her disabled daughter called her GP to say she was suicidal – and was offered an appointment 12 days later.
An inquest heard that former sea cadet Jane Kavanagh, 33, killed herself the next day after struggling to get support from council and healthcare officials.
She had been a fulltime carer to her 15-yearold daughter, who was autistic and suffered from the degenerative condition ataxia.
But despite living on her own with her two children, Miss Kavanagh had no care workers assigned to her, had no adaptations made to her house and was offered no respite care.
Her parents did offer support, but their house was deemed ‘inadequate’ by council officials in Rochdale - so Miss Kavanagh and the children had to move to a messy nicotine-stained property described by family members as ‘appalling’. cerebral
In a suicide note to her parents, Alan and Irene Farrar, Miss Kavanagh wrote: “I just can’t find a way to drag myself out of this f***ing s***hole of a life, I hate myself. I want to die all the time, I have for a few months now, every day.”
She was later found by neighbours hanged at her home in Rochdale having earlier left the children with Mr and Mrs Farrar.
Miss Kavanagh killed herself on Saturday, April 21, this year. It emerged during the inquest that on the Friday she had called her local GP surgery and explained that she had suicidal thoughts - she was offered an appointment for 12 days later.
Tests showed she had been surfing the internet for ways to take her own life.
At the Heywood hearing Mrs Farrar wept as she said: “Jane was 19 when her first child was born and she had some difficulty with getting assistance from the authorities and she became her full time carer. Her eldest was diagnosed with autism but it took a few years for the authorities to accept that. She then started having trouble with her leg, which got worse and worse, and she was diagnosed with cerebellum ataxia in 2015 - she was just 12 and had lots of hospital appointments.”
She added: “We had her daughter stay over on the Friday night, Jane then came over the Saturday morning to pick her up. She got her about lunch time and then came back at teatime. She told us she had eaten, so she had something. She seemed to be in a happy mood. Jane then asked to go to her friends and promised she would be back for 8pm. She didn’t come back. We expected her to stay over. Her daughter rang her, but her phone was off. Her daughter can wheel herself around but she needs constant care 24/7.”
Miss Kavanagh’s GP Dr Ayman Ramadan said: “In March 2018 she was talking about feeling depressed and her mother came with her.
Although she seemed well, she was low in mood and was encouraged to self refer herself to ‘Healthy Minds’ so she could help herself. She rang the surgery on April 20 and wanted an appointment. The receptionist used the triage system and made the appointment for May 2nd. At the time there were no red flags with how she was behaving.”
Recording a conclusion of suicide Coroner Nicholas Flanagan said: “I am extremely concerned by all of the evidence I have heard about the non-clinical staff at the GP surgery.
“There is a real pressing concern that someone can ring up in relation to an appointment and not be seen or considered by a clinical member of staff for a significant period of time.
“This is a real concern.”
Speaking after the hearing, Miss Kavanagh’s mother Irene said: “We feel like we’ve got no answers. We feel like we’ve got no closure.
“Our next step is to get the right adaptions into the house for our granddaughter. We understand what Jane had to do and how tough it was for her.”
After the hearing, Jane was described as a ‘loving daughter and mother’ who ‘almost became an Olympic swimmer’, by her father.
“She won loads of gold medals that will now go into the memory box for her daughters,” he said.
In a statement, Rochdale council said: “This is a tragic case and our sympathies are with Jane’s family and friends at this difficult time.
“The council was in regular contact with Jane throughout and we offered her a care support package with our short break service and worked closely with Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, offering the necessary adaptations to her home or alternative accommodation.” A review will be held to see if any lessons need to be learned, they added.