A vulnerable woman is thought to have lain dead in her Camden council flat for as long as nine-and-a-half months before she was eventually found - prompting a coroner to raise concerns.
The body of Maria Kelly, 54, was eventually discovered at her home in tower block Langdon House, Leather Lane, on May 15, when police broke in after the alarm was raised by neighbours.
By that time, her remains were decomposed and part-mummified.
An inquest into Ms Kelly’s death, which concluded last month, heard she lived alone at her Camden Council-owned flat and had an extensive list of physical and mental health issues.
Her GP practice, Gray’s Inn Road Medical Centre, and local mental health services had struggled to reach her many times in the months before she was found.
Yet despite at least 18 failed calls and visits from mental health team, and 31 missed GP calls and appointments, no steps were taken to alert the police.
Coroner Melanie Sarah Lee ruled Ms Kelly died of natural causes.
But she has now issued a rare ‘prevention of future deaths’ report regarding concerns about details that came to light at inquest.
Ms Kelly was living with around 11 conditions including chronic kidney disease, steatosis of the liver, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, and depression. She had also previously been diagnosed with cancer, and took several types of prescription medication for her conditions.
The cause of her death could not be ascertained, but Ms Lee ruled out suicide and third-party involvement.
The exact date of Ms Kelly’s death is also unclear.
She had had no contact with her GP since June 2023, and no contact with mental health services since August 2023.
It is known that on August 1 last year, nine-and-a-half months before her body was found, she was issued with a repeat prescription.
Neighbours reported they may have seen her months later, in January this year, but “could not be certain”.
On May 14, concerns were raised by her neighbours and a housing officer, and the police were called.
Officers initially declined to attend, but eventually forced entry the following day, when they found Ms Kelly dead, her body “in a state of partial mummification”.
Between August 23 last year and when the practice was notified of her death nearly nine months later, Ms Kelly’s GP recorded 31 “failed encounters” for mental health reviews, as well as other failed encounters for blood tests and bowel screening.
“Failed encounter” is an NHS term used for when a patient either does not attend an appointment, could not be reached by phone, or was not home when visited.
Ms Kelly’s last mental health review, with South Camden Rehabilitation of Recovery Team (SCRRT), was on March 7 last year.
On December 29, the team realised there had been no contact with her for four-and-a-half months, despite “many” attempts.
Her care coordinator had gone on leave, so she was put on a waiting list for a new one.
There were then 12 more attempts to visit Ms Kelly at home, and six failed attempts to get hold of her by phone, the inquest heard.
“Despite this, no welfare check was undertaken, nor any request for a welfare made to her housing officer or police, until neighbours raised concerns on May 14, 2024,” wrote coroner Ms Lee in her prevention of future deaths report.
“In my opinion, action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe that you and/or your organisation have the power to take such action.”
The report was addressed to Gray’s Inn Road Medical Centre, and to the South Camden Rehabilitation of Recovery Team at North London Mental Health Partnership.
A spokesperson for North London Mental Health Partnership said: ‘We would like to offer our deepest condolences to Mrs Maria Kelly’s family.
“We are reviewing all aspects of the inquest into her death to learn from it. It would not be appropriate to comment further until we have responded in full to the Coroner.’
A Camden Council spokesperson added: “Our deepest sympathies are with all those that knew Ms Kelly. We are working with the relevant agencies to look into what happened leading up to Ms Kelly's death.”
Gray’s Inn Road Medical Centre has not responded to The Standard’s request for comment.
On Tuesday, just weeks after the conclusion of Ms Kelly’s inquest, an inquest opened into the death of another woman whose remains were not found until long after her death.
Laura Winham, who like Ms Kelly lived with schizophrenia, was left lying dead in her Woking flat for more than three years before her remains were finally found by her brother in May 2021. An inquest into Ms Winham’s death continues.
