A mental health trust has acknowledged its failure to properly care for a 16-year-old patient, leading to her tragic death.
Elise Sebastian, a passionate Harry Potter fan and music lover, was found unresponsive in her room at the St Aubyn Centre in Colchester in April 2021. The unit is run by the Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT), which had assigned staff to provide one-to-one care for Elise.
The teenager’s family attended the first day of an inquest into her death, and they are also taking part in the ongoing Lampard public inquiry, which is investigating over 2,000 patient deaths.
The inquest, held at Essex Coroner’s Court, revealed that Elise was supposed to have one-on-one supervision at the St Aubyn Centre due to previous self-harm attempts. However, Essex area coroner Sonia Hayes explained that Elise was meant to be monitored when in isolated areas, a responsibility that was not fully carried out.
On April 17, 2021, Elise’s mother, Victoria Sebastian, visited her daughter, giving her a hug before leaving. When she departed, Elise was allowed to enter her bedroom from a communal area without staff present. The next day, Elise was found unresponsive and passed away in the hospital two days later.
Victoria Sebastian described the pain of losing her daughter as “too much to bear” and said that Elise had been “badly let down by the system.”
EPUT admitted its failures were directly linked to Elise’s death. The trust’s lawyer, Pravin Fernando, stated that the organization had failed by allowing Elise to enter her room unsupervised, despite the one-to-one care arrangement.
The family also revealed that EPUT staff did not inform them where Elise had been taken after she was rushed to the hospital. As a result, they drove to Colchester Hospital, hoping she was there.
Michael Lewis, a senior paramedic with the East of England Ambulance Service, was called to the scene when Elise was found. He recalled facing locked doors and a lack of accountability from the staff. “Each question was met with ‘I don’t know,'” he said, describing his frustration.
Dr. Lisa Cunningham, an emergency medicine consultant, also noted that there was a noticeable level of stress among the staff at the time.
Elise’s mother, Victoria, shared how much family meant to her daughter, highlighting the close bond Elise had with her siblings. Her father, Glen Sebastian, remembered Elise as a “typical little princess” who had a passion for art and would “blow me away with her paintings.”
Elise, diagnosed with autism, epilepsy, and other physical health issues, struggled socially and had a history of anxiety, self-harm, and bullying. She had been admitted to mental health units before, and the inquest heard she had previously absconded from care.
Both of Elise’s parents, who are now separated, stated that they have been dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder since her death.
In her opening statement, Coroner Sonia Hayes described Elise as “a young person with her own hopes and dreams,” adding that the inquest would continue for the next four weeks.
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