A grieving mother has pledged to do everything she can to stop other families from suffering the loss she endured.
Elise Sebastian was 16 when she was found unresponsive in her room at the St Aubyn Centre mental health unit in Colchester in April 2021.
An inquest jury at Essex Coroner’s Court found that poor monitoring by staff contributed to her death.
Victoria Sebastian, Elise’s mother, said she will take part in the Lampard Inquiry, which is looking into over 2,000 deaths of mental health patients in Essex.
“I will fight with the inquiry to make sure no other family has to go through this heartbreaking pain,” she said.
The Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT), which runs the unit, apologized to Elise’s family.
Elise, who loved Harry Potter and music, lived near Maldon and had autism. Her parents were worried about her anxiety and depression. In March 2021, she was admitted to the unit for the second time.
The inquest revealed she was supposed to have one-to-one care but was left alone in her room for 28 minutes on April 17. Staff had muted an alert from a new monitoring system installed just two months earlier.
EPUT admitted it failed in its duty by letting Elise enter her room unsupervised, a failure that contributed to her death.
Mrs. Sebastian said her daughter was “dramatically and horrendously” failed and was treated like an “inconvenience.”
“She was supposed to be safe but was allowed to try to take her own life multiple times before she died,” she said.
She added, “Too many lives have been lost. Losing a child is the most painful thing, and I will do everything I can to stop this from happening again.”
The Lampard Inquiry is closely watching the case.
Paul Scott, EPUT’s chief executive, said, “I am sorry to Elise’s family and everyone who cared about her. She did not get the care she deserved, and I offer my deepest condolences.”
