‘Loving and loyal’ GCHQ worker took her own life
THE mother of a ‘loving and accomplished’ GCHQ worker has criticised mental health services in Gloucestershire following an inquest into her daughter’s death.
Mother-of-two Rebecca Westernforrest, known as Bekki, killed herself at home in Cheltenham on March 25, 2022.
Gloucestershire Coroner’s Court heard she had first been voluntarily admitted to the Wotton Lawn Hospital in Gloucester in late January.
Senior coroner for Gloucestershire Katy Skerrett ruled the death was suicide. The inquest had earlier heard that she took her own life weeks after being discharged from the acute mental health hospital.
It was told that she had been at ‘medium risk’ of suicide when arrangements were made for her to be discharged in a gradual manner.
She had begun trial periods of spending a night at home on five occasions before her discharge on February 24.
The hearing was told the 42-year-old felt “clinically depressed” but was not diagnosed as such and instead treated for anxiety. It also heard that she had found coronavirus lockdowns difficult and was anxious about returning to work at the top-secret government communications agency.
The inquest was told that significant stress had been observed following the difficult delivery of her twin girls in 2012.
Matthew Forrest, Bekki’s widower, told the court she tried to kill herself the weekend of February 27, only days after she was discharged from Wotton Lawn. He said they went to visit and stay with family but she was very down that weekend and had a panic attack. Mr Forrest tried to calm her down and to employ coping strategies.
Mr Forrest told the court he informed the recovery and community health team members who visited Bekki the following Monday and Tuesday. However, while the health team members acknowledged the weekend “had not been good”, they said Mr Forrest did not go into detail.
He said Bekki was absolutely terrified of going back to Wotton Lawn. The court also heard how she had had quite a traumatic experience with previous operations and had significant anxiety about going back to work at GCHQ.
Dr Jonathan Haynes, deputy medical director for Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, also told the court that Bekki’s mental health had previously been affected by the national lockdown. He said there were still some Covid restrictions in Wotton Lawn but his understanding was they did not affect Bekki substantially. “But I’m aware the family has different views on that,” he said.
Mrs Skerrett said she was overall satisfied that the care given during her admission at Wotton Lawn as well as the care she received after her discharge was satisfactory.
On March 22, there was significant deterioration in Bekki’s mental health but this was not enough to warrant a mental health act assessment, Mrs Skerrett said.
At the conclusion of the inquest Mrs Skerrett read out a statement from Bekki’s mother. It said: “Bekki was a loving, loyal, passionate supportive wife, mother, daughter, sister and aunt. She was articulate, humorous, and her love of family and friends and excitement for travelling made her stimulating company.”
“Like many families we have suffered a devastating loss as a result of the ineptitude of the mental health services. Despite the coroner’s findings, we strongly feel that Bekki’s poor quality of treatment and not quantity contributed to her suicide only four weeks after her discharge as a voluntary patient at Wotton Lawn.
“During the inquest we revealed that an attempt was made and reported within 48 hours of discharge from Wotton Lawn but the coroner decided that despite showing inaccuracies in note taking that NHS staff had dealt with information appropriately or denied that information had been given.
“Even though this case is taken in isolation there is enough evidence to show that the Gloucestershire trust has repeatedly failed patients who suffer with mental health issues.”
The statement added: “It has to be recognised that her mental health problems stem from her catastrophic experience within the trust’s maternity services 11 years ago and finally caught up with her in 2022.
“We wish we had never placed our trust and her care in Wotton Lawn and its associated support teams. Bekki came out worse than when she went in. She was a loving mum of twin girls, wife, daughter and sister who deserved more than we have received by this inquest and NHS Trust. She will always be missed.”
A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust said they were deeply saddened by this tragic incident and offer their sincere condolences to Mrs Westernforrest’s family. “We have carried out a thorough investigation and will use the findings from that investigation as well as the inquest findings to ensure that any learning is embedded into practice to help prevent similar circumstances occurring in the future,” they said.