Charley-Ann Patterson Inquest

Posted : 24th October 2022

Watson Woodhouse represented the family of 12-year-old Charley-Ann Patterson in the inquest into her death.

Charley was found unresponsive at her home in Cramlington, Northumberland, on October 1st, 2020. Charley had been bullied and struggled to get mental health support in the months before her death.

Northumberland Coroner’s Court heard how Charley told a nurse, after harming herself for the second time, that she had been bullied online and she was unable to speak to her friends to reconcile due to being at home during the lockdown. A plan was made to refer her to the Northumberland early help hub but the referral was never processed by the trust.

The inquest heard how it was wrongly assumed that a referral had already been made, when in fact it was to be made after the follow-up appointment.

Charley’s family is now campaigning for ‘Charley’s Law’, which calls for improvements in mental health provision for young people. They want to see all first appointments with children’s mental health services take place within a month of referral; weekly support meetings and more regular meetings with all key players in a child’s life, including doctors, parents, teachers, and social services.

The family have also called on schools to educate children at a younger age about bullying and safety online.

The coroner conducting the inquest death will also write to Health Secretary, Therese Coffey, with concerns about children’s mental health following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The inquest was told NHS services have seen a “massive escalation” in the number of young people experiencing anxiety and self-harm post-lockdown.

Watson Woodhouse trainee solicitor, Abigail Gowland, had previously accompanied the family to London to provide support and advocate for this long overdue revision of child mental health services.

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Charley-Ann Patterson Inquest