Essex Teenager Died Due To Neglect at a Mental Health Unit, Inquiry Says

A 16-year-old girl from Essex is believed to have committed suicide and lost her life due to neglect at a mental health unit, an inquest jury heard.

The teenager was described as a "happy and outgoing" person before she was found unresponsive in her bedroom at the St Aubyn Centre in Colchester in April 2021. Officials stated that the girl, Elise Sebastian, was supposed to receive one-on-one care at the unit.

Essex Teen Dies Due to Neglect at Mental Health Unit

However, the inquest heard that an infrared alert system, which warns staff if an individual has been in the bathroom for too long, was muted, which caused the teen to be left alone for about 28 minutes.

An Essex Coroner's Court's inquest jury unanimously agreed that the teenager's untimely death could have been prevented if not for a series of failures in her care. During the hearing, the Sy Aubyn Centre, which is run by the Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT), was described as "chaotic," according to BBC.

The center is currently the subject of an ongoing public inquiry following the tragic death of the 16-year-old girl. EPUT is represented by Pravin Fernando, who admitted that the teenager's room should have been locked to prevent her from being left alone.

Fernando added that the trust, "accepts that these failings were causative of her death." The inquest also heard that the teenager was able to secure a place at Writtle College, where she could work with animals.

The teenage girl was found to have a history of mental health issues, dating back to 2016 when she was only 12 years old, which included anxiety and depression. She was later diagnosed with high-functioning autistic spectrum disorder in March 2020, ITV reported.

While Sebastian was an inpatient at mental health units other than St Aubyn, she has a history of self-harm and absconding. Her mother, Victoria Sebastian, had visited her daughter on the same day that she was found unresponsive.

A Series of Issues

Her father, Glen Sebastian, said that his world has been "completely destroyed," noting that his family has been shattered into pieces. The inquest is likely to look into a series of issues, including the appropriateness of care plans and risk assessments, staffing levels, training, and the management of the 16-year-old's self-harming.

The court heard evidence from Dr. Ian Seddon, who is a retired consultant cellular pathologist who had previously worked at Colchester Hospital when the teenager died. He was the one who performed an external examination and reviewed blood results of Sebastian and concluded that the 16-year-old girl did not have drugs or alcohol in her body, as per the Gazette Standard.