Learn from my daughter’s death, says mum of girl moved 170 miles
THE MOTHER of a Yorkshire teenager who took her own life after she was transferred to a mental-health hospital 170 miles from home have called for lessons to be learned following her death.
Tori Titheridge, from Alwoodley, Leeds, said she would campaign to improve mental-health provision for young people following the death of her 17-yearold daughter Mia, who was transferred 170 miles to the nowclosed Huntercombe Hospital in Norwich.
An inquest into the teenager’s death found she took her own life after failure by staff at the hospital to respond to her low mood, risk of self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
Mrs Titheridge said moving vulnerable people, especially young people, to receive treatment did not work and they needed their loved ones close by.
She said: “We were against Mia
being moved because of the distance.
“She was going to be moved to a place where she would be isolated and alone, hundreds of miles from her family and friends who could offer her the support she needed.
“Mia was terrified when she was transferred. We just didn’t see how this would help with her rehabilitation.
“Mia was my world. She was the most beautiful daughter I could have wished for who had her entire future ahead of her.
“We remain absolutely devastated she is longer here and will not get to fulfil her ambitions or celebrate milestones in life.”
An inquest was told that Mia was found unresponsive in her room on March 19 2017 and was taken to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital but died the same day.
The teenager was deemed a high-risk patient and was supposed to be on 15-minute observations but had not been checked on for 57 minutes.
A spokesman for the Huntercombe Group apologised to the family and said they would be more proactive in conducting spot checks on CCTV on the night shift.