Family tell of shock that Erskine bridge suicide pact girl was being bullied at care centre

THE family of a teenager who jumped from a bridge in a suicide pact with a friend said they were “shocked and surprised” to hear she had ben bullied at the centre where she was being cared for.

The family of Georgia Rowe spoke out as an inquiry heard her death and that of friend of Niamh Lafferty could have been prevented.

Georgia, 14, and Niamh, 15, who were residents at the Good Shepherd Centre care home in Bishopton, Renfrewshire, died after falling more than100ft from the Erskine Bridge in October 2009.
Neve Lafferty and Georgia Rowe

A spokesman for Georgia’s family said last night her death might not have happened if the home had taken “a more robust approach to security and staffing”.

A seven-month fatal accident inquiry by Sheriff Ruth Anderson at Paisley Sheriff Court also concluded the deaths “may have been avoided” had “reasonable precautions” been taken.

Sheriff Anderson QC said more staff should have been on duty on the night the girls died and that they should not have been placed in accommodation near an unalarmed exit.

She also said there should have been at least four staff on duty – as the centre was required to have under Scottish Care Commission guidelines – instead of just two.

The sheriff added that management at the centre should have “given proper regard” to the serious nature of the bullying Georgia suffered from another young resident.

She said they “should have taken appropriate steps” to ensure the removal of either Georgia or the person who bullied her.

Her stepmum and aunt, Tania Oliver, from Sorn, Ayrshire, said the inquiry would take her “one useful step towards getting closure”.

But she added she was “shocked and surprised” to hear of Georgia’s bullying ordeal.

Desmond Cheyne QC, who represented Tania at the inquiry, said: “Her view is that the deaths could have been prevented by a more robust approach to security and staffing.

“This has been an exceptionally difficult and emotionally testing time for Tania and her family and she will live with the consequences of this forever.

“She loved her stepdaughter, who she regarded as an intelligent, lovely, extrovert girl who began to be troubled, for some reason, just prior to her being taken into care.”

In a further twist to the tragic events, Niamh’s dad, Paul Lafferty, 48, from Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, took his own life only 11 months after the double tragedy. He was said to be “tortured” by her death.

Niamh’s mum, Colette Bysouth, said yesterday her daughter had enjoyed a “happy” visit with her family on the day she died.

She added: “She turned around, waved at me, a big happy smile.

“I’d said, ‘I’ll see you soon’, and off I went. And that was the last time I saw Niamh alive.”

She said her daughter was “very much loved”.

Niamh’s grandad John Bysouth, also from Helensburgh, said last night: “Nothing we can say now will bring her back.”

The Good Shepherd Centre Open Unit is now closed but their board of managers issued a statement expressing their “renewed condolences” to the families.

It described the deaths as “the saddest and most traumatic event” in the history of the unit and a significant factor in its eventual closure and the redundancy of members of staff.

The board welcomed thesheriff’s findings, adding: “Any lessons which may be learned will be implemented in full where they may be applicable.

“This will undoubtedly be true also for other open and secure units across Scotland dealing with vulnerable young people.

“No one who worked with Georgia and Niamh was unaffected by this tragedy, which was utterly unprecedented both in the professional lives of staff and in the history of the institution.

“The impossibility of predicting such an event emerged in the evidence but, at the same time, weaknesses in the handling of the girls’ circumstances were identified for which the board expresses its profound sorrow.”

In her report, Sheriff Anderson said there was a need for a risk assessment to be carried out for each young person in care, with separate consideration given to issues of self-harm and suicide.