Mental health trust criticised after man, 21, killed by train
Failings by a mental health trust and GP contributed to the death of a young man “with huge potential.”
An inquest heard Emmett Gillah of Tunbridge Wells had suffered from mental health problems including paranoia and delusional behaviour since November 2014, after he was the victim of an assault.
Despite his background, evidence suggested Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Care Partnership Trust ( KMPT) discharged the 21-year-old from his community care team too early and without adequate support.
He was released in April 2015 and died after being hit by a train at Nutfield station in Surrey in January 2016. It is thought he panicked after seeing police offers.
His mother, Wendy Gillah, said: “My son was a loving, creative, intelligent and warm hearted young man with huge potential but he was also very ill, and had been for many months. We relied on professionals to support Emmett and to keep him safe, yet he was allowed to drift and deteriorate without anyone identifying how poorly he was or taking steps to help him and stop him from harming himself.”
Following an inquest in Woking, assistant coroner Darren Stewart ruled Mr Gillah’s death was by misadventure, adding his mental health was a contributing factor. It heard there were failures in his care resulting from a lack of staff expertise, supervision, communica- tion, record keeping and case review. His GP was said to have failed to take appropriate steps to help Mr Gillah in his final weeks.
A KMPT spokesman said: “We have fully accepted all recommendations made by the coroner and are ensuring that changes made are properly embedded in our services.”
For confidential support on an emotional issue, call Samaritans 116 123 any time Thousands of women in west Kent are having to contend with the anxiety of long waits for their smear test results.
A mandatory 14-day turnaround time was introduced for cervical screening results in 2010, and providers have to ensure they meet the target in at least 98% of cases.
But a Freedom of Information request to Public Health England has revealed that 81% of women screened in the NHS West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group area in the 12 months to July waited longer than two weeks for their results. It means 22,280 women who attended a smear test in this period - more than four in five - didn’t get their results on time.
Impending changes to the way cervical screenings are carried out are being blamed for a backlog across the UK.
Robert Music, chief executive of cervical cancer charity Jo’s Trust, said: “Lots of people have approached us saying they are waiting 12, 14, 16 weeks for their results. It is creating anxiety.”