A coroner has warned that staff shortages within a mental health service could result in more deaths. This follows the 2023 death of Rebecca McLellan, a 24-year-old trainee paramedic from Ipswich, who was under the care of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT).
In a prevention of future deaths report, coroner Daniel Sharpstone noted that in the months before Ms McLellan's death, her care co-ordinator took planned, prolonged leave. NSFT reportedly did not have a process to "adequately" manage this absence, and the youth team had four vacancies out of 16 positions.
Ms McLellan was without a dedicated care co-ordinator for approximately nine weeks. However, the coroner concluded that the level of care provided by the trust did not contribute to her death "more than minimally or trivially."
NSFT stated that processes were already in place to cover planned leave and that further improvements have been made since Ms McLellan's death. Anthony Deery, chief nurse at NSFT, said the trust has strengthened arrangements for managing staff absences and introduced clearer guidance for continuity of care.