Show Notes
26-year-old Abbigail Smith was the apple of her mother's eye. She was a talented young woman with a beautiful voice and a kind heart.
But her struggles with autism and mental health meant that she was frequently in the hands of those working in Essex mental health services, spending years in inpatient facilities, trying to be saved. But Abbigail's mother Lisa, said that instead of being saved, she was traumatised by the things she saw and things that happened to her whilst in the states care. So much so, that it ended up killing her.
This is Abbigail's story, told by her mother Lisa.
Follow Melanie Leahy's fight for justice: https://curementalhealth.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/470129540220825/
To find out more about the Lampard Inquiry: https://lampardinquiry.org.uk/
Please note this episode includes both references to sexual assault, self-harm and suicide. If you need support, please see the links below to organisations that can help:
https://www.mind.org.uk/ - Mental health & Identity support https://www.spuk.org.uk/ - Suicide Prevention UK https://www.samaritans.org/ - The Samaritans https://988lifeline.org/ - Suicide Prevention USA https://www.suicidepreventionaust.org/ - Suicide Prevention Australia https://www.pieta.ie/ - Suicide Prevention Ireland
https://www.thesurvivorstrust.org/ - For people who have been the victim of sexual abuse (UK)
https://www.rainn.org/ - Sexual Abuse Support USA
https://www.nasasv.org.au/support-directory - Sexual Abuse Support Australia
https://www.rcni.ie/useful-links/ - Sexual Abuse Support Ireland
If you would like to support for the show, you can do so here, thank you so much: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/podcast4justice
EPUTS ROR via their website: https://eput.nhs.uk/the-lampard-inquiry/
To see other podcasts by Naomi Channell, please find the information here: https://linktr.ee/realtruecrimepodcast Naomi produces a weekly true crime podcast called 'Real', as well as other multipart deep dives including: 'His Name Was Stuart Lubbock' 'Her Name Was Claudia Lawrence' 'Through The Wall: The Case Against Luke Mitchell' 'What Happened To Charlene Downes?' 'Who Killed Billie-Jo?'
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More from Investigating Essex: Dying To Be Saved
On the 9th of September 2024, The Lampard Inquiry started in the town of Chelmsford in Essex. The aim of the inquiry is to investigate over 2000 deaths that occurred in Essex mental health units or within three months of being discharged, from 2000 - 2023.
In this episode, I, Naomi, tell you why I wanted to make this series. Because a friend of mine, 34-year-old Suzanne Brown, known lovingly as Sue, was murdered by her boyfriend. My friend and her boyfriend consistently asked for help for his mental health issues, but that help never came.
Whilst around 2000 deaths are being investigated by the Lampard Inquiry, there have been many other deaths of people who have been under the care of Essex mental health services, but they aren't being included. This is because they fall outside of the three-month post discharge window set by the terms of reference. People like 21-year-old Tillie, who just missed out on being included in the inquiry, despite years of treatment under EPUT.
In this episode, we see what happens when staff make the wrong decision. A decision that can mean the difference between life or death.
In this episode, we look at a number of sexual assaults on patients, committed by staff within mental health units in Essex and hear accounts from some of the victims.