A 13-year-old schoolgirl was ‘crying out for help’ when she took her own life after reporting a traumatic incident and being denied a hospital bed.
Ella Murray was in need of help from social services, but a lack of communication between agencies meant she wasn’t offered a hospital bed.
An inquest into her death heard she had a history of self-harm, which included taking an overdose in 2022 and again in 2023, while she was also seeing a counsellor between April and July 2023.
This came after she was referred to school counselling services for low mood and suicidal thoughts, who in turn referred her to social services after she told a member of staff about an alleged harmful incident involving another individual.
In November that year, Ella was taken to hospital and told nurses she wanted to be admitted, but a decision was made to have her seen by a mental health nurse at home instead.
She was later found hanging in her room and died on November 15, 2023, in hospital.
