Carole Mitchell
11 Feb 2021 · Coroner Alison Mutch · Greater Manchester South
The coroner's concerns
1. delay in accessing psychology assessment and therapies
“The inquest heard that psychology assessment and therapies can be very beneficial to those with mental health issues in secondary services as well as primary services. The evidence given was that the delay that Mrs [name redacted] experienced in accessing that service was reflective of both the regional and national backlog for appointments.”
2. lack of local inpatient accommodation for Mrs Mitchell
“Mrs [name redacted] on two occasions could not be accommodated locally when an inpatient stay was required. The evidence heard at the inquest was that this was due to limited national mental health bed capacity against the demand within mental health services.”
3. reluctance to gather information from family due to confidentiality concerns
“It was accepted at the inquest that information gathering from family could be beneficial. However, there was a reluctance by health professionals to fully utilise information gathering due to concerns about breaching patient confidentiality.”