My beautiful daughter, 12, died in appalling NHS hospital that was supposed to keep her safe – I will never recover

WHEN 12-year-old Mia Lucas suddenly changed from being a “fun bubbly girl with a real joy for life” to having extreme emotional outbursts and being physically aggressive, her mum, Chloe sort specialist help.

But just four weeks, after being sectioned to a mental health facility, Mia died after taking her own life – and now devastated Chloe is looking for answers.

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Mia was initially taken to Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham to get help, and Chloe, 33, believed her daughter would get the treatment she needed to get back to her “amazing, friendly, funny” self.

She underwent assessment and investigations, including blood tests and an MRI scan, and while everything was reported as normal, Mia was diagnosed as experiencing an “acute psychotic episode”.

She was sedated and remained in the hospital for more than a week before being detained under the Mental Health Act to Emerald Lodge at The Becton Centre – a specialist children’s mental health facility in Beighton, Sheffield.

But she was in the facility just three weeks before taking her own life in her room.

Chloe, from Arnold, Nottingham, is now hoping an inquest into her daughter’s death can provide answers as to how and why she lost her daughter so quickly.

“Mia was always such a happy girl, and she was unwell for such a short period of her life. She didn’t need to die and with the right care and treatment, she could have got better,” she told The Star.

“Not for a second do I believe she intended to take her life, she was ill, and not in control of her own thoughts.

“It may have taken time, but I fully believe she’d still be with us today had she been properly treated, and she would have had such a great life to look forward to.

“There is no worse feeling as a parent than looking at your child and not recognising them because they’ve suddenly changes, not knowing how to help them, and feeling completely out of your depth.

“Losing a child is hell as a parent, but to lose a child like we did, given she had always been such a joyous, happy little girl, was completely devastating.

“It all happened so quickly, I’ll never, ever recover from it, and never be able to forgive the health service for failing her in her time of need.”

During her time at the centre, Mia made four other attempts at taking her own life.

As part of Mia’s inquest, “subtle features” of autoimmune encephalitis on an MRI scan taken at the Queens Medical Centre will be brought into questions, as this should have resulted in a different treatment route for Mia being followed.

Autoimmune encephalitis is when the immune system mistakenly attacks and caused inflammation in the brain and spinal cord in response to a previous infection – which Mia had recently had.

Symptoms can vary, but often start with flu-like symptoms followed by significant changes, including confusion, personality shifts, seizures, memory loss and involuntary movements.

Numerous failings in Mia’s treatment and care at The Becton Centre were also identified as part of a Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust investigation.

This included observations of Mia not being carried out in line with policies, observation charts which were “not fit for purpose”, and poor communication between staff on shift handovers relating to incidents of concern.

“We’ve many concerns over Mia’s treatment which we intent to fully explore at the inquest and seek answers to on behalf of Chole,” said Amy Rossall of Hudgell Solicitors.

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Chloe added: “I believe Mia was failed at every stage, from the moment I took her to hospital, and she was diagnosed as being psychotic, to the appalling failures at The Becton Centre.

“I visited her at The Becton Centre every day, but she was out of my care and control, and it was so hard. I asked the staff to remove things from her room, but they just dismissed my concerns and said they were not allowed to.”

The inquest into Mia’s death is due to be heard later this year.

Dr Jeff Perring, executive medical director at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, told The Star: “Our thoughts are with Mia’s family and everyone who is grieving her loss in such tragic circumstances.

“Following Mia’s death, we have carried out a thorough review of Mia’s care, and the improvements identified have been acted upon.

“This included working with her family to offer support and to listen to, and understand their experiences.

“The inquest into Mia’s death is as an important opportunity to make sure we learn everything we can, and make any further improvements needed to ensure we provide safe and compassionate care.”

If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123.