Hospital is condemned after charity worker, 27, kills herself on the ward: Staff failed to assess her despite 12 suicide bids

She had Borderline Personality Disorder which meant she had a fear of ‘rejection and abandonment.

Hospital is condemned after charity worker, 27, kills herself on the ward: Staff failed to assess her despite 12 suicide bids

By JAYA NARAIN FOR THE DAILY MAIL and RICHARD SPILLETT FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 07:55 EST, 3 February 2015 | UPDATED: 03:08 EST, 4 February 2015

A charity worker who had attempted suicide a dozen times was failed by doctors when she was admitted to hospital after taking an overdose, an inquest heard.
Kim Lindfield was not given a mental health assessment despite suffering severe depression for years.

The 27-year-old, who felt doctors saw her as an attention seeker and a time-waster, was left on a ward without proper monitoring even though she had warned she would try again to kill herself.

Hours after her admission to Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, Ms Lindfield was found hanged by her hospital bed by nurses carrying out their rounds – having earlier left her cubicle curtains ajar in the hope of being found.

Staff tried to revive her but she died six days later when her family agreed to let doctors switch off her life support machine.

In the hours before her death, Ms Lindfield, from Wythenshawe had told a worker ‘there’s no point’ when asked what she wanted for tea – but her comment was treated as a remark about the quality of hospital food.

At inquest into her death a coroner recorded a verdict of death by misadventure contributed to by neglect.

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