Changes for students promised following 19-year-old’s suicide
Brilliant young artist in desperate need of help ‘fell in the cracks’ of Trusts
The suicide of a “brilliant” young artist could forever change how the NHS treats mental health cases involving students.
Becky Marshall, from Maidstone, took her own life just weeks after starting university. A policeman’s daughter, she was just 19 years old when she overdosed on medication.
Her parents say when Becky went to Goldsmiths University in London to study the History of Art, she “fell in the cracks” between two NHS trusts. Assistant Southwark Coroner Briony Ballard has filed a report to prevent future deaths.
She said there were “many missed opportunities” in Becky’s treatment that may have prevented her suicide in November 2017.
Stephen and Jeanette Marshall found out daughter Becky was one of 80 people seen regularly by an overwhelmed mental health nurse in Maidstone. Inderjit Randhawa, the nurse at the primary care mental health team with Kent and Medway NHS Trust, said with hindsight she should have been more proactive when dealing with Becky’s health.
In the nine months before her death, Becky was left stranded as she attempted to get an in-depth appointment as she felt her low dose of antidepressant was not working.
In July 2017, Becky tried to take her life by climbing onto the wrong side of a barrier on a bridge in Kent.
She was restrained and taken to hospital but this was not enough to get the appointment she badly needed and a diagnosis to help her manage her mental health.
During a meeting two months later with a mental health worker, Becky was accidentally told a doctor had diagnosed her with emotionally unstable personality disorder, also known as borderline personality disorder. A GP and psychiatrist listed EUPD as a possibility in their notes, although this was never explicitly an official diagnosis. EUPD is a controversial diagShakespeare nosis in the UK with some doctors hesitant to diagnose it, especially in young women who make up the majority of patients.
Other medical experts say you should not diagnose anyone younger than 25 with such a disorder as their personality is still developing.
Becky moved to London and repeatedly tried to get an in-depth appointment with the South London and Maudsley NHS trust.
Dr Nighat Yasmeen, who was the last doctor to see Becky, said an error meant she was only seen for 20 to 30 minutes when the appointment should have taken an hour-and-a-half.
She was supposed to receive an in-depth discussion about her mental health but, instead, it was just a medication review. Just two weeks later, Becky killed herself.
The night before she died, Becky sent her father a text message to say that she loved her father Stephen, mother Jeanette, and younger sister Katy. The next morning when Stephen woke, he called and messaged her several times throughout the day. It was out of character for her to not respond. Concerned, Stephen went to Goldsmiths and a female member of staff entered Becky’s room where her body was found cold underneath the duvet. Paramedics and police attended and Becky was pronounced dead.
Becky’s father Stephen, 59, said: “There has to be checks, balances, follow-ups and communication between the home NHS trust and the trust they are with at university.”
Mum Jeanette said:”Universities should maybe say you should get help before you come here before the stress and the pressure.”
Stephen added: “It’s a question of resource and of being open and honest and treating people holistically.”