Young autistic people still dying despite coroner warnings over care

Dozens of young autistic people have died after serious failings in their care despite repeated warnings from coroners, BBC News has found.

Their investigation found issues that were flagged a decade ago are still being warned about now.

Two bereaved mothers said lessons had not been learned by their local health authority after the deaths of their teenage sons, two years apart.

The coroner who oversaw both cases, noted a repeated failure in care.

After the first death, the coroner criticised NHS Kent and Medway for "inadequate support" and said a similar incident may happen if this continued.

Two years later, the second autistic teenager died under the care of the same authority. The same coroner found that had the victim received the recommended level of care, he might have got the therapy he needed.

In the first piece of research of its kind, the BBC combed through more than 4,000 Prevention of Future Death (PFD) notices delivered in England and Wales over the past 10 years.

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Source: BBC News, 7 September 2023