The death of a 12-year-old girl at a specialist mental health facility was a 'preventable' tragedy, her grieving mother has told an inquest, stating her repeated warnings about her daughter's safety were ignored.
A Mother's Unheeded Warnings
Mia Lucas died at the Becton Centre for Children and Young People in Sheffield in January last year. She was found unresponsive in her room and was pronounced dead the following day, just weeks after being sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
Her mother, Chloe Hayes, 33, told the hearing at Sheffield's Medico-Legal Centre that she had raised serious concerns about the level of observation her daughter was under and about specific items being in her room. "Mia's observations were not sufficient," Ms Hayes stated. "I was very worried something bad was going to happen and I was not taken seriously."
A Treatable Condition Missed
The inquest heard that Mia had been admitted to the Becton Centre, part of Sheffield Children’s Hospital, after her family took her to the emergency department at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham on December 31, 2023. She was experiencing psychosis, hearing voices telling her she needed to go to heaven, and had attempted to get knives from the kitchen.
Much of the evidence has centred on whether Mia was suffering from autoimmune encephalitis, a treatable inflammation of the brain that can cause severe psychiatric symptoms. Pathologist Professor Marta Cohen presented new blood test results that conclusively confirmed Mia had the condition, a fact not known until the inquest proceedings.
An expert neurologist recalled to the witness box said it was now "definitive" that autoimmune encephalitis was the cause of her psychosis. Ms Hayes broke down in tears upon hearing this confirmation, telling the inquest: "My daughter's death could have been prevented but the hospital did not listen to my concerns. We reached out for help and Mia did not get the help she needed."
A Family's Heartbreaking Loss
Ms Hayes revealed she only learned the full extent of Mia's self-harm attempts after her death. The schoolgirl had tried to harm herself on at least four previous occasions while in hospital. On one visit, Ms Hayes found her daughter injured but was told by staff that her behaviour "did not warrant" restraint.
"I would never have left Mia alone if I had known the full extent," she said. The family visited Mia daily and Ms Hayes spoke to staff multiple times a day.
On the night of January 29, 2024, Ms Hayes was told her daughter was "settled". Just hours later, she received a call informing her that Mia had self-harmed again and did not have a pulse. Ms Hayes said she did not believe her daughter intended to take her own life, but acted impulsively due to her illness. "She was unwell for such a short period - it was a quick decision she took without thinking rationally," she said. "We were so close as a mother and daughter, we are all heartbroken beyond words."
The inquest continues.
