Family say more mental health access needed after death of 'wonderful' daughter

By Douglas Whitbread - SWNS 20th May 2024

Amina Ismail, 20, died at the Priory Hospital Cheadle Royal in September 2022 (Image via SWNS)
Amina Ismail, 20, died at the Priory Hospital Cheadle Royal in September 2022 (Image via SWNS)

The family of a "wonderful daughter" who died at a scandal-hit mental health hospital is campaigning for greater access to services for vulnerable women.

Amina Ismail, 20, was found dead in her room in a psychiatric intensive care unit at Priory Hospital Cheadle Royal last September.

She had suffered from complex conditions including emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), post-traumatic stress disorder and disordered eating.

Amina went into seven mental health wards from 2019 to 2023, but her family say she never really got the support she needed.

And they said she was "isolated" at the Priory Hospital Cheadle Royal where she was detained in August 2022.

Tragically, when emergency services were called to her room in the Pankhurst Ward on September 15, she was pronounced dead a short while later.

Her passing comes after Beth Matthews, 26, Lauren Bridges, 20, and Deseree Fitzpatrick, 30, all died at the same institution.

An inquest ruled Amina died by misadventure and coroner Andrew Bridgman said he intends to issue a prevention of future deaths report.

In it, he will call for the government and NHS England to set out what measures it will take to improve the availability of appropriate mental health placements.

Speaking after the inquest, Amina's heartbroken dad Ahmed said she might still be alive if she had been given better treatment.

He said: "Amina was a wonderful daughter and sister. She was very gifted and had ambitions of becoming a nurse or a paramedic.

"[But] the last year was a real struggle for Amina. She was miles away from home and despite us visiting and supporting her as much as we could, we felt she was isolated.

"All we desperately wanted was to at least to get her closer to home and then back to her family.

"It's almost impossible to describe the hurt and pain we're going through following Amina's death.

"She had her whole life ahead of her and it devastates us that she's no longer with us and she'll never get to fulfil her potential and ambitions.

"It's a reflection of our mental health system that Amina was in and out of placements and moved from pillar to post for years, while we feel, never really getting the help and support she needed.

"If she had then we wouldn't have had to go through the trauma of losing her and the trauma of trying to establish answers in her memory.

"The current system isn't equipped to deal with our most vulnerable and has to change for the better."

Amina, who had ambitions of becoming a nurse or a paramedic, had first come to the attention of mental health services at the age of 15.

But she was placed in the psychiatric intensive care unit, meant for those with acute symptoms, due to a national shortage of beds for mental health patients

And at the time of her death, Amina had been waiting for a step-down placement for approximately a year.

A jury at South Manchester Coroner's Court concluded Amina died by misadventure, which was contributed to by her prolonged 13-month say in the unit.

Alexander Terry, a lawyer from Irwin Mitchell representing the family, said after the hearing: "Amina's story is yet another tragedy involving a young woman with complex mental health needs losing her life while detained miles from her home and her family.

"Sadly, the inquest has validated the family's concerns and identified that the prolonged stay on the PICU as a result of the national shortage of appropriate specialist beds contributed to Amina's death.

"Amina's loved ones still believe that if she had received the care she should have then she may still be with them today.

"What this hearing has highlighted is that there's a national shortage of appropriate rehabilitation placements for vulnerable young women with emotionally unstable personality disorder or complex trauma.

"This inquest has heard evidence about the problems that out-of-area placements create for the planning and delivery of care.

"This inquest has also heard evidence about how heavily the NHS relies on the private sector to provide mental health beds. The current system prioritises profit at the expense of patient well-being.

"The Government pledged to end out-of-area hospital placements by 2021. By failing to deliver on this pledge, the state continues to fail some of the most vulnerable young people in this country.

Ahmed said he hoped there would be changes to the mental health service in the future.

He added: "All we can hope for now is that lessons are learned from how Amina was let down.

"It's imperative that changes are made to how people with mental illnesses, and particularly young women, are cared for.

"The current system isn't equipped to deal with our most vulnerable and has to change for the better."

     

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