Paragraph 6 reads: “And she said they put her on a
course of Fluoxetine [Prozac]–
an anti-depressant which has been linked in some instances
with side effects which can lead to patients wanting to
commit suicide.”
Redditch mother to take Somerset NHS Trust to court over daughter’s
suicide
Oct
29 2009 by John Marsden, Birmingham Post
A mother is set to take legal action against a hospital trust she claims
failed to spot her daughter’s mental illness that resulted in her
death.
Beautician Tracy Thomas was left devastated when her oldest
daughter, Kimberley, hanged herself in her bedroom just two weeks before
Christmas.
She claims Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust failed to
help 25-year-old Kimberley after she repeatedly threatened to commit suicide
when she moved to the region in 2004.
Mrs Thomas, who lives in Redditch,
Worcestershire, with her three children, said Kimberely had been suffering from
Bi-Polar Disorder.
Despite Kimberley’s plea for help, Mrs Thomas said
doctors did not see her as a threat to herself.
And she said they put her
on a course of Fluoxetine – an anti-depressant which has been linked in some
instances with side effects which can lead to patients wanting to commit
suicide.
Mrs Thomas said: “If Kim had been in Worcestershire I’m sure she
would have been sectioned and been given 24-hour care.
“But doctors in
Somerset didn’t want to know. They were more concerned with transferring
resources elsewhere.
“They simply failed to see the gravity of her
illness. Of course I want an apology from the hospital but no words or money
will ever bring my daughter back.”
Mrs Thomas has now approached Irwin
Mitchell solicitors and said she intends to sue the Trust for negligence. She
has also set up a Facebook website called Survivors of Family and Friends to
Suicide, in a bid to help people who have been affected by similar
tragedies.
A spokesman for Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
said: “We offer our condolences to Mrs Thomas for the tragic death of her
daughter.
“The Trust would refute any suggestion that we were negligent
or failed to diagnose Kimberley correctly.
“We will defend ourselves
against any legal action taken against us.”
In April, an inquest heard
how former Debenhams employee Ms Thomas, of Winchester Street, Taunton, hanged
herself after a series of relationships broke down. Somerset Partnership NHS
Foundation Trust received an excellent rating from the Care Quality Commission
for its treatment of mentally ill patients last year.
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I am kimberleys mother I was shocked to find that you have used my daughters news paper artical I stand by everything I said my fight is on going with the uk nhs.
they say the internet can sometimes be misleading but in my case it was the sole reason I learnt how bad prozac really was.
A lot more was confirmed after I gained a medical report for kim the worse thing I learnt had they not given her that vile drug and treated her with the correct drugs she would still be alive today.