The heartbroken parents of a 12-year-old girl who took her own life hope change will now be implemented after a coroner announced he would contact the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
Charley Ann Patterson hanged herself at her home in Cramlington, Northumberland, after being bullied. She was found unresponsive in her bedroom by her dad Paul and passed away in hospital on October 1, 2020.
An inquest into her death heard how Charley suffered from low mood and anxiety related to friendship difficulties, the coronavirus lockdown and other influences. She had previously reached out to health services after self harming on two occasions.
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Northumberland Coroner's Court how Charley told a nurse, after harming herself for the second time, that she had been bullied online and she couldn't 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 it fact it was to be made after the follow up appointment. Senior Coroner Andrew Hetherington said: "It’s not possible to say, if those steps had been undertaken, whether the outcome would have been any different."
The hearing heard how there had been a significant increase in the number of children seeking support for self-harm and anxiety. The court heard how the number of children being referred to mental health services for their emotional wellbeing had increased from one a week to one a shift. The coroner said he would write to Therese Coffey about the concerns he had heard during Charley's inquest.
Charley's family, including her mum Jay and her dad Paul, wore black suicide awareness t-shirts for all four days of the inquest at County Hall in Morpeth, Northumberland. A picture of Charley also sat at the front of the coroner's court.
Following Charley's death two years ago, her parents have been battling to help other struggling children like her. They've been pushing for a change in the law to ensure all youngsters get the mental health care they need within set time limits.
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.
Mum-of-five Jay said: "We feel like the conclusion was quite fair. The coroner is writing to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. We believe that this is really positive and we're hoping that we can use this to push Charley Law.
"We're glad that the coroner acknowledged the bullying and the lack of referral that left Charley with no mental health support despite the fact that she asked for that support and she was willing to engage.
"Everybody who met Charley, every medical professional, said that she was open, she asked for the support and she was willing to engage. She unfortunately didn't get that.
"We feel, because we're the ones who know Charley the best, that if she had received some support in any form, whether that be talking therapies, CYPS, CAMS, even the school nurse, if she had got that support we wouldn't be here today."
The inquest heard how Charley had been sent a message which said "You're useless, you can't even kill yourself properly". Just a week before Charley died, her daughter was sent an alarming video which showed her how to tie a knot. Her mum said she wouldn't tell her who had sent it to her but she was visibly upset by it.
The coroner said: "It’s evident to me in the period leading up to Charley’s death she had been suffering from bullying."
He said that it was likely that messages, videos and comments would have had an impact on Charley. He said the bullying had taken place "overwhelmingly by electronic devices" and had likely taken place outside of school.
Northumbria Police identified that Charley had been bullied and offences, such as malicious communication and harassment, were considered by the force. However none of the incidents crossed the threshold for prosecution.
Charley's mum Jay Patterson said: "Charley was a firecracker from day one. Charley loved spending time with all of us and she was just the most amazing little girl ever.
"Nothing we can do will ever bring Charley back but we're trying to raise awareness and get actions put in place so no other family has to go through what we have been through and no other child has to feel the way Charley did.
"We want the change to be in Charley's name. We don't want her to be known as the girl who killed herself. We want her to be known as the girl who, due to her passing, lifted the barrier for others and created a path so nobody else has to feel how she did. That's what we are hoping for."
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