Health bodies not aware of suicidal student’s history
LOCAL health bodies were not adequately informed of a suicidal student’s mental health issues when she moved to Lampeter according to a health trust review.
Lauren Smith, from Canterbury in Kent, committed suicide on the Lampeter campus of Trinity St David University on November 17 last year.
The 18-year-old’s body was found in a halls of residence just two months after moving to the town to study for a humanities degree.
She had previously received treatment for mental health issues in Canterbury, but when she moved to Lampeter the Kent and Medway NHS Partnership Trust did not transfer her medical details properly.
Medical professionals in the Lampeter area were not made aware of the seriousness of her mental health problems.
A spokeswoman for the Kent and Medway NHS Partnershop Trust said: “Firstly, can we say the Kent and Medway NHS Partnership Trust would like to offer our sincere sympathy to Lauren’s family.
“Following Lauren’s death the trust conducted an immediate review of the care provided.
“The initial investigation concluded that record keeping in the case was below the expected standard and the arrangements for transferring care to Wales should have been better managed.
“Further review has highlighted that more could have been done to gather information from other mental health services that had seen Lauren in the past.
“Since this tragic event Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Trust has appointed a dedicated patient safety manager who will be reviewing all future serious incident investigations resulting in a death.”
Lauren had self-harmed in the past and a review found she had not been receiving the required help in her new home as a result of mistakes by Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Trust.
A Hywel Dda Health Board spokesman said: “Hywel Dda Health Board would like to offer the family of Lauren our condolences for the tragic loss of their daughter.
“We have already been in touch with her family to explain that the appropriate referral to local mental health services was made for Lauren while she was resident in our area.”
