Amelia Turner
Age 2121 Jun 2023
Launceston, Cornwall (United Kingdom)
Suicide
Amelia died by suicide a month after being discharged from a mental health unit. She was autistic and on a waiting list for an NHS gender identity clinic.
The death of a young transgender person has again highlighted the gaps in mental health care provision in Cornwall, an inquest has revealed. [Deadname] Turner, who was only 21 and known as Amelia, was found dead in a wooded area outside Launceston on June 21 last year, a month after being discharged from a mental health hospital.
An inquest into [her] death heard how [deadname] and [her] brother were adopted by [their parents] when they were three and five, respectively. They had been removed from their birth parents' care due to neglect and emotional abuse.
At an inquest held in Truro on Thursday (May 9), [deadname]'s mother (who asked that he was referred to as [deadname] during the inquest) said [deadname] had been a bright and inquisitive [child] but had low self-esteem and struggled to settle in school, which she attributed to the childhood trauma [she] had suffered. She told the hearing that as [deadname] grew older [her] behaviour became challenging.
She said that [she] never mentioned [her] gender identity to her or her husband. [Deadname] had left the family home at 19 and moved around Cornwall and Devon, sleeping in a tent in the Exmouth area and sofa-surfing at friends' homes.
Mrs Turner said that [deadname] had told them that [she] was transitioning and was on a gender reassignment waiting list for it. In a statement read out in court, [deadname]'s partner in the months before [her] death, said [she] was Amelia to her.
She said: "Amelia was the best thing to happen to me. Amelia had not transitioned when we were together but she was on the waiting list. She was struggling with her mental health and had multiple personality disorder and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder).
"Amelia used cannabis as a coping mechanism. I'm not sure why she suffered so bad. She told me that her birth parents were not fit to be parents. She wanted to end her life but never said she would when we were together."
The inquest heard how the 21-year-old was sectioned under the Mental Health Act on five occasions since January 2021 including a stay at Longreach House mental health unit a month before [her] death. Jeremy Sandbrook, consultant psychiatrist from Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, who looked after [her] at the time, told the inquest that [deadname] was emotionally unstable, had problems forming relationships with mental health services, with people and accepting [herself], which he said had stemmed from [her] early childhood traumas.
Dr Sandbrook told the inquest that [deadname], who identified as pansexual transgender, was diagnosed with PTSD and autism spectrum disorder but also said that diagnosis of autism and mental health provision in general in Cornwall was impacted by staffing issues and a lack of facilities which exist in other parts of the country.
He told the hearing that there is no alternatives to mental health hospitals in Cornwall such as day hospitals where patients can come in and work through their issues without being detained under the Mental Health Act. He said there are no crisis cafes or units in Cornwall similar to facilities which exist in other counties that provide community support settings for mental health patients.
He said there are also not enough human resources within the partnership trust's home treatment team while the waiting list for autism diagnosis is two years which then leaves people in potential worsening situations for a long time until they can access the right help. Andrew Cox, senior coroner for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said the crisis in mental health provision in Cornwall is a national issue.
He said he will write a Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) Report to the secretary of state for health and social care and to the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board about the issues raised by [deadname]'s death. Finding a conclusion of suicide in relation to [her] death, Mr Cox said: "[deadname], known as Amelia, had an extremely difficult early childhood, the legacy of which caused great issues as [she] went through adolescence into adulthood.
"Notwithstanding the care and love of [her] adoptive parents, [she] struggled to understand [her] place in the world and struggled to understand [her] relationship with the world around him and the people in it. There were negative factors from [her] upbringing that led to PTSD compounded by autistic spectrum disorder.
"Looking at this through [she] eyes, it must have been a very difficult world to live in. There is evidence from friends and partner that [she] had articulated taking [her] own life and one month before [her] death he tried which is why [she] was taken to a place of safety. [deadname] took [her] own life and intended to do so."
Mr Cox said his PFD reports to the health authorities at local and national levels will again emphasise the crisis mental health services faced in our county. He added: "It is not unique to Cornwall and it cannot be fixed just in Cornwall. It is a concern that needs to fixed at government level.
"I will write to the secretary of state for health and social care to bring staffing issues to their attention. There is gap in the provision of care available for people with PTSD and complex mental health needs. There are no care units available and that should need to be considered for Cornwall by the health commissioning services.
"For patients with autism, the diagnostic services are inadequately resourced with a two-year waiting list which needs attention."
Amelia's Instagram account is https://www.instagram.com/amelia_trans/.
https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/death-young-transgender-person-highlights-9273587
