'Bubbly' girl took her life due to school anxiety

A 14-year-old girl who struggled with her school attendance after the Covid-19 pandemic took her own life, an inquest concluded.

Erin Tillsley "was very bubbly, loved TikTok, doing her hair and dancing", her father Daniel said in a statement read out at Suffolk Coroner's Court on Friday.

But Mr Tillsley said "things became really difficult after Covid-19 lockdowns - she didn't want to go back to school".

Erin was found unresponsive at their home in Great Cornard, Suffolk, on the morning of 14 July 2023.

She had moved schools in May that year, but only attended it for four days between the start of the May half-term and her death, Suffolk's area coroner Darren Stewart said.

Her father said on the day she died, he had left their home to go to work at 05:30 BST and called Erin at 07:00 to see if she was awake and ready for school.

He said that she sent him a text message saying she "can't do this" and in a later call at 08:50, she said she was not going in to school.

Mr Tillsley said he got a "really bad feeling" and returned home, finding Erin in her bedroom at 10:25.

He called emergency services and paramedics arrived 11 minutes later, but she was pronounced dead at 11:33.

Mr Stweart said Erin's family had noted the "significant" impact the pandemic had on her and that she "experienced difficulties being able to re-engage with school".

On New Year's Eve in 2022, Erin took a number of her mother's prescription pills and was taken to the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds.

Mr Stewart added the hospital treated it as an accidental overdose combined with alcohol and it did not trigger a referral to a psychiatric liaison team.

Erin was referred to the mental health trust, Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, by her GP on 4 January 2023.

Mr Stewart said he was concerned about "delays" by the trust and that he was awaiting further information from them.

He said the reason why Erin "struggled with her attendance" had not been established.

"I find Erin took her own life," the coroner ruled, recording her medical cause of death as by a ligature around her neck.

Mr Stewart said he would make a decision on whether a report to prevent future deaths was required after hearing more from the mental health trust and from West Suffolk Hospital.

Dr Ewen Cameron, chief executive of the hospital trust, said it was "deeply saddened" by Erin's death.

“Every patient deserves the highest quality and safest care and we have rightly carried out a patient safety review regarding Erin’s care with us," he added.

A spokesperson for the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust declined to comment at "the request of the family".

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