'Bubbly' girl, 14, took own life after being bullied and mental health delays

08 March 2024 , 13:05

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Bella Greer took her own life, an inquest heard (Image: No credit)

A 'bubbly' 14-year-old girl took her own life after bullying at school and delays in mental health treatment, an inquest heard.

Bella Greer was found dead at around 6pm on October 5 last year. Despite her best efforts, she was sadly unable to resuscitate her daughter. On the day of her death, the court heard Bella was left upset due to an undisclosed matter with a pupil at Saint Bede's Catholic High School in Lytham. And she had also received some negative feedback from the school where she was a student, the court heard.

But a friend said she had seemed to have "shrugged it off" as she was known to do - and she was also noted as having a "jovial and happy" personality. Coroner Louise Rae read out statements that painted Bella as a positive young person, who showed no obvious signs of depression.

But the coroner said she had been a victim of bullying from a young age - and had moved from Lytham High School due to the way the pupils treated her. The court heard how the "unpleasant" behaviour towards "sweet" and "generous" Bella started again at her new school.

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'Bubbly' girl, 14, took own life after being bullied and mental health delays

Bella had delays in receiving mental health treatment (No credit)

She had gone to see her doctor with her mum to get help with her mental health just under a month before her passing. And the court heard that Bella had been referred for an "urgent" mental health assessment by her GP on September 12, 2023.

However, the referral had not been received as it had gone to the wrong email address. And on September 14, a member of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) team helped Bella to complete a self-referral.

This was again marked "urgent", meaning it should have triggered a triage review within 48 hours and an assessment within two weeks. But it wasn't triaged until October 3 because of "staff deficits", the court heard.

A letter that her mum Sarah sent to police was also read at the inquest, where she described how Bella enjoyed a "really happy day" with her sister on October 4, 2023. They had been out for food, and Bella had been dancing around with no signs that she was planning to end her life the following day, it said.

Sarah stressed that she did not believe her daughter's actions were a deliberate attempt to end her life, but a cry for help. A statement by DI Montgomery, the Senior Investigating Officer who took over the case on October 6, 2023, describes how Bella had left a note that referred to "typical teenage girl" problems.

And the officer said this included an incident with another pupil that had upset her. DI Montgomery added that there was no evidence of any pre-planning, but the coroner ruled that as Bella left a note, this was evidence that she had intended to end her life.

Ursula Martin, Chief Strategy and Improvement Officer at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCft), called Bella's death "regrettable". She said: "We fully acknowledge the conclusion reached by HM Coroner into the death of Isabella Greer and I would like to extend our condolences to her family."

"The safety of those in our care is our utmost priority and the death of any patient while under any of our services will always be regrettable. Following Isabella's death, we carried out a detailed investigation into care delivery concerns, which identified triage and communication issues between teams.

"We take the findings very seriously, they offer us an opportunity to learn lessons so we can endeavour to do everything to try to prevent similar issues occurring. We have addressed the issues highlighted through enhanced training and reviewed communication protocols. Once again, our heartfelt sympathies go to Isabella's loved ones during this incredibly difficult time."