NHS trust ‘abandoned’ budding paramedic who took her own life

Rebecca McLellan, a trainee paramedic, pursuing the job she had dreamed of as a child, took her own life at the age of 24.

Amid the devastation felt by her loved ones, serious questions have now emerged about the standard of care she received at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT).

In notes recorded before her death last November, McLellan said that Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) had “abandoned” her in a time of need. An internal investigation has now been launched by the mental health trust, which has been dogged by safety concerns for more than a decade.

Relatives of McLellan, who lived in Ipswich, Suffolk, and was being treated for bipolar disorder, are among hundreds of bereaved families who believe their loved ones were failed under the care of the trust. Her mother, Natalie McLellan, 48, said it was clear that some of her daughter’s feelings of helplessness in her final months were “shaped by their inadequacy”.

“She was somebody that had it all,” said Natalie. “She had a supportive family, she had a nice flat, she had a nice car, she was doing exactly what she wanted to do in life. She had a voice, she was able to speak and advocate for herself as a medical professional. If she can’t get help, what the hell hope is there for anybody else?

Recent months have seen calls for a public inquiry and criminal investigation into NSFT after bosses last year admitted to losing count of the number of patients that had died on its books. Campaigners describe the mismanagement of mortality figures as “the biggest deaths crisis in the history of the NHS”.

The Times has spoken to trust staff, bereaved relatives and MPs who say that despite repeated promises of improved care the trust’s overstretched services remain unsafe and require urgent reform.

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Source: The Times, 26 January 2024