Name: Brooke Martin.
Died: June 11, 2019.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Suicide.
Location: Milton Keynes, England, UK.
Details:
Brooke wanted to become a veterinarian. She was “very caring, thoughtful, and sensitive,” her mother remembers.
Diagnosed with autism and emotionally unstable personality disorder, Brooke had been living with the risk of suicide for some time. She had been repeatedly hospitalized involuntarily due to suicide attempts and self-injury.
Hospitalized once again in a unit that supposedly specialized in personality disorders, Brooke initially improved, but then became suicidal again. Staff observed her handling “potential ligatures” which she had hidden under her blanket; but nobody did anything to help. Only minutes later, having been left unattended despite her obvious and active suicidal intent, she was found unconscious in her room. She died the next day.
An inquest found that the hospital had failed to protect Brooke in several ways. They had not searched her room after they saw her handling ligatures, nor had they taken the ligatures away; she was not put on 1:1 observation; and staff who had seen Brooke in danger did not report the problem.
References:
‘I thought she’d be safe’: a life lost to suicide in a place meant for recovery
Inquest finds serious failures by Elysium Healthcare contributed to death of 19 year old Brooke Martin
Report to Prevent Future Deaths: Brooke Martin
Mum slams private hospital ‘blunders’ after daughter, 19, takes her own life