Laura Winham, 38, had severe mental illnesses and was ‘abandoned’ by NHS and social services, family allege
A severely mentally ill woman whose dead body lay in her home unnoticed for more than three years was effectively “abandoned and left to die” by NHS and social services who missed repeated chances to save her, her family has alleged.
During the three-and-a-half years in which her body lay undisturbed, no determined attempts to establish her wellbeing were made, despite her disability benefits being stopped and her gas cut off, and her repeated failure to reply to letters, phone calls and texts, or answer the door. Her family described how Winham had overcome physical disability, deafness, heart problems and teenage mental health issues to do well at school and graduate from university. She had been sociable and had friends, her family said, until her mental health took a drastic turn for the worse.
Despite being informed by the police that Winham’s phone was not working, adult social care teams tried to call her. They subsequently wrote to her with details of local food banks and contact details for support organisations. The case was closed after two weeks, with no welfare check made.
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