Death of young woman reveals service failings

Mental health organisations have said that the case of a young
woman with depression who was killed by her father after being sent
home from hospital is a graphic illustration of the lack of
appropriate services for 16-25 year olds.

The Mental Health Foundation claimed thousands of young people
going through a mental health crisis are let down each year by
“inaccessible and inappropriate services”.

Maidstone crown court heard this week that Sarah Lawson, 22, was
asked to leave the psychiatric wing of Homefield Hospital in
Worthing, Sussex, after allegedly passing cannabis to another
patient. Two days later her father James put a plastic bag over her
head after she had taken an overdose of painkillers and
anti-depressants. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is awaiting
sentence.

Mind said the case was a tragic and unnecessary death and called
for the mental health bill, expected later this year, to enshrine a
legal right to a psychiatric assessment as well as a legal right to
receive a service.