A report published by the Parliamentary and Health Service
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is someone who can help you if you have complained about a
service
A service gives people what they need, like healthcare services that help people when they are ill, and support services that give people support.
, like a hospital. If you think that the service has not looked at your complaint properly, you can take your complaint to the ombudsman. The ombudsman is an independent person who will look at your complaint.
today (Tuesday 21 May) found that Basildon Hospital did not give her the treatment she needed or even meet her basic care needs.
She suffered several seizures in hospital and went four days without food.
Tina had learning disabilities, epilepsy, Russell-Silver Syndrome (a form of dwarfism), and severe scoliosis of the spine (abnormal curvature of the spine).
Beverley Dawkins, Mencap's Policy Manager
A manager is a boss at work. They tell you what you need to do and give you support if you need it. , who has worked with Tina’s family, said:
Tina's death was an avoidable tragedy. Her family and Mencap believe that the failings that led to her losing her life at 23 were because doctors held the view that Tina's life was not worth saving, due to her disability.
Mencap is deeply concerned that Tina is the fourth person with a
learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
known to Mencap who has died at Basildon Hospital. The hospital must make sure that the measures that they have put in place since Tina's tragic death will stop other people with a learning disability dying needlessly in their care.
Tina’s mother Christine, who has waited four years for the report, said
When your child becomes ill and you need professional help from doctors - you and your child are looked at, and you can see their mind working: is there any point in trying to save this child's life? You can see that they think ‘this child has an existence and not a life’. Wrong! This child is loved by all the people, family and friends that they come in contact with. This child is a human being. They just happen to be born with a disability.
Beverley Dawkins, Mencap's Policy Manager, continued:
We welcome the Ombudsman’s finding that service failure resulted in missed opportunities to save this young woman’s life. It is clear that hospital staff and the out of hours GP service missed any opportunity to save a deeply loved and much-missed young woman.
But, this is yet another shocking example of the indifference and substandard care that people with a learning disability face in the NHS. It has taken her family four long years to get any kind of justice for her death. This must not happen again.
Mencap has campaigned for many years against
discrimination
Discrimination is when someone is treated differently (usually in a bad way) because of things like their disability or their
religion
Religion is to do with the things you believe about the world. For example you may believe there is a god or something else. Examples of religions are Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism.
.
in the NHS. In 2007, the publication of its landmark report,Death by Indifference, led to an Independent Inquiry, headed up by Sir Jonathan Michael. The charity has continued to hear from families whose loved ones have died within the NHS. Last year, Mencap launched its report 74 deaths and counting, detailing these cases.
-ENDS-
For more information please contact Claire Monger at Mencap on 020 7696 5414 or email media@mencap.org.uk.About Mencap
There are 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK. Mencap works to support people with a learning disability and their families and carers by fighting to change laws and improve services and access to
education
Education is when you learn things. When you fill in a form to get a job, education means you write where you went to school, college or university.
,
employment
Employment means having a job.
and
leisure
Leisure is when you have time to do things you enjoy like playing sports or going to the pub.
facilities. Mencap supports thousands of people with a learning disability to live their lives the way they want.
What is a learning disability?
A learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability and difficulty with everyday activities – for example household tasks, socialising or managing money – which affects someone for their whole life.
People with a learning disability tend to take longer to learn and may need support to develop new skills, understand complex information and interact with other people.
The level of support someone needs depends on individual factors, including the severity of their learning disability.