Two young women who met while receiving mental health care in Nottinghamshire both died after separate failings in the system, with juries at inquests concluding neglect played a role in each case.
Louise Furlong, 19, died in September 2022 while a patient at Highbury Hospital. She had been assessed as being at very high risk of self-harm and should have been observed every ten minutes. However, evidence heard at the inquest found she was left unchecked for around 35 minutes.
Louise had been in contact the day before her death with her friend Sophie Towle, whom she had met earlier that year while both were patients at the same hospital. The pair had remained in touch following Louise’s discharge in March 2022.
An inquest heard Louise had not initially been intended to be admitted to Highbury Hospital, but communication errors in her care led to her being placed there in the days before her death.
Concerns raised by staff about a possible “suicide pact” between the two women also led to them being kept apart on separate wards. Evidence given during proceedings disputed that characterisation, with family members stating the pair supported each other but avoided contact when both were struggling.
Louise’s death had a significant impact on Sophie, who continued to experience mental health difficulties and was admitted to psychiatric care on multiple occasions in the following months.
Sophie Towle died in May 2024, aged 22. A separate inquest into her death also concluded that neglect contributed to the circumstances.
The two cases involved different hospitals but fell under the care of the same NHS trust, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
Following both inquests, the trust said it is committed to improving patient safety and the care provided to people using its services.
