Nevaeh would still be here if we'd been listened to

FAMILY'S AGONY OVER DAUGHTER'S WARD DEATH

OUTSIDE a family home, funeral flowers remain next to a wooden memorial.

Nevaeh Owen died on March 14 this year, aged 18.

The pain of loss is raw in the cracked voice of her mother, Lynda. Her daughter is the latest teenager to die while in the care of Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, which is currently rated inadequate by inspectors.

Three young people died within nine months at the Prestwich site of the trust. Rowan Thompson, 18, died in October 2020 followed by Charlie Millers, 17, in December 2020 and Ania Sohail, 21, in June 2021. In October 2022, a jury at Rowan's inquest concluded that the lack of timely communication on Rowan's blood test results contributed to his death. They also ruled that this amounted to 'neglect' - meaning 'a gross failure to provide basic medical care' as a result of the failure.

Coroner Joanne Kearsley consequently issued a 'regulation 28' report to the trust in a bid to prevent further deaths, highlighting concerns raised by the case.

In August this year a pre-inquest review will be held into Nevaeh's death. Lynda, from Bolton, believes the trust has questions to answer regarding her treatment. She claims she repeatedly asked for Nevaeh to be transferred from the ward she died on.

She described how Nevaeh declined into a spiral of mental illness: "From what we have been told there were always underlying issues but lockdown brought things to the surface. She found it difficult being stuck in the house."