Parents heartbroken after ‘bullous’ daughter found unresponsive in mental health hospital bedroom just weeks into stay

The parents of a woman who “brought light and laughter” to the lives of all who knew her have told of the devastation of losing their daughter just weeks after her stay in a mental health hospital.

Leah Taylor, 20, from Urmston, was admitted to the Eleanor Hospital in West Didsbury on May 24 last year and detained under section three of the Mental Health Act, a grand jury inquest into her death at the Coroner’s Court in Manchester.

Less than a month later, in the early hours of June 17, she was found unresponsive in her bedroom and tragically pronounced dead by paramedics. At the time, Leah was monitored four times an hour by staff.

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On the first day of the inquest into her death on Monday (May 20), coroner Zak Golombeck told the jury that one of the issues he wanted the jury to focus on was whether Leah should have been put on constant observation one- to one in the period leading up to her death.

In a summary of the case, he told the jury there were “several incidents” of deliberate self-harm involving Leah during her stay at Eleanor Hospital, including eight incidents the day before her death.

Eleanor Hospital, run by Equilibrium Healthcare, provides care for women who have been diagnosed with a personality disorder or mental illness.

In 2022, the Eleanor Hospital was deemed ‘inadequate’ following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in May of that year and was placed in special measures.

Following an inspection on 20 June 2023, three days after Leah’s death, the service was again rated as ‘inadequate’.

Paying tribute to their daughter earlier, parents Paul and Helen described her as “bubbly” and said she was “so talented at making people smile”.

In an emotional portrait read to the inquest, they said that although their daughter had “struggled” with mental health for many years, she was a “determined young woman” with dreams of becoming a special educational needs (SEN) teacher and plans. to travel

They described Leah as a “sensitive soul” with a “heart of gold” who would “help and support” others in any way, adding that her weakness was that she “cared too much “.

Paul and Helen said Leah was “ridiculously funny” with a “sense of humour” and an “army of friends” who adored her.

They added: “Leah brought so much love and laughter to all of our lives. She was an inspiration and left a permanent mark on all who knew her.

“It was a gift that kept on giving, she was truly one of a kind. Leah was our light and our only goal in life. We were a team, a team of three people who adored each other. Now she is missing, our light has gone out.”

In a separate statement read at the inquest, Paul said he believed there were “numerous missed opportunities”. incorrect decisions, poor judgment and a lack of knowledge about how to support Leah during her stay at Eleanor Hospital,” adding: “We believe Leah would still be alive if the correct measures had been taken.”

Paul said he and Helen “never received any updates” on Leah’s progress or decline while she was at Eleanor Hospital and were not informed of any of the many incidents involving her.

Paul said they only learned of the incidents involving Leah on June 16, the day before her death, in documents weeks after her death.

He added: “MeIf we had been truly informed of Leah’s progress, and in particular we had been informed of the incidents that took place on 16 June, we could have discussed with staff how to support Leah to de-escalate these situations. Also, we would have personally gone to the hospital to see Leah.”

Paul said Helen received a call from Leah on the evening of June 16 and she seemed “extremely distraught”. Paul he said immediate he called the hospital and that “at no point during the call” was he told of any incident involving Leah.

He said he called Leah later and she seemed more “calm” and ended the call by saying, “Night dad, I love you, see you tomorrow.” It would be the last time he would speak to her.

Paul said that when he reviewed the submitted documentation later, he learned that Leah “assaulted” a member of staff” on June 16 and was told the incident had been reported to the police. He said this would have caused Lea “a great deal of distress” and it had noted in Leah’s recordings how she reacts to police issues and how it was a “trigger” for her.

Giving evidence, Leah’s clinician and group medical director of Equilibrium Healthcare, Dr Sholinghur said Leah had been diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder and ADHD. The inquest later heard that Leah believed her emotions were “all over the place” and she “couldn’t control them”.

Dr Sholinghur said Leah was on observation level two throughout her stay at Eleanor Hospital, meaning she was observed four times an hour, and confirmed that her observations were never increased to constant observation one -to-one, which would have seen it kept in view of the staff at all times.

The inquest heard that within 24 hours of Leah’s admission there were several incidents of deliberate self-harm, including two incidents involving ligatures.

Asked by Coroner Golombeck if he was “concerned” about this, Dr Sholinghur said the incidents could have been caused by the “stress of a new place” and that it was up to the team at the hospital to “manage” them and “help “. ‘ the patient.

On June 8, the inquest heard Dr Sholinghur saw Leah during a ward round and was aware of four incidents of self-harm involving her on June 3, including attempts to ingest foreign objects. He said that in light of the incidents, he had made the decision to keep Leah at level two to provide “close monitoring and support”.

He added that he was not informed of another incident on the evening of June 3, which saw Leah taking a bath and expressing her intention to drown.

Dr Sholinghur said that based on the four incidents on June 3 he was informed of there was “no justification” to increase Leah’s observations and her actions “did not warrant” a higher level of observation.

The inquest heard there were no incidents involving Leah in the days following June 3. Dr Sholinghur said Leah seemed to be “settling in on the ward” and “getting to know the staff”.

He added that since then there has been a “lack of engagement on Leah’s part” but also “episodes where she has tried to commit”.

The inquest heard that a new round of ward was scheduled for June 22 and that they normally took place every two weeks.

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