Paramedic died after struggle with mental health

9 hours ago

Alex Dunlop,at Suffolk Coroner's Courtand

Ben Parker

Rebecca McClellan was a paramedic for the East of England Ambulance Service

Family photo A woman with long dark hair smiles at the camera. — Rebecca McClellan was a paramedic for the East of England Ambulance Service

An inquest has found that a trainee paramedic took her own life after struggling following a bipolar disorder diagnosis.

At Suffolk Coroner's Court, coroner Daniel Sharpstone said Rebecca McLellan, 24, from Ipswich, had reacted to her diagnosis in 2022 "very badly" and had shown a "steep decline in mental health".

Her mother, Natalie, had accused Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust of routinely leaving her daughter without care.

But the coroner concluded that the level of care provided by trust did not contribute to her death "more than minimally or trivially."

McLellan, who worked for the East of England Ambulance Service, grew up in Clacton, Essex.

After her diagnosis, she was initially cared for by a psychiatrist in Essex but she was discharged when she moved to Ipswich for work.

The inquest heard she had been on different medications and there were concerns about an eating disorder.

On one occasion, she visited a mental health unit and pleaded for help but was told to leave the premises.

Police forced entry into her home in November 2023 and found her body after concerns were raised by a colleague.

The court was told that McLellan had left a note and letters. Nearly 500 people attended her funeral and the ambulance service provided a guard of honour.

Natalie McLellan said her daughter was kind and loyal

Qays Najm/BBC A woman with light hair wearing a black top in front of Suffolk Coroner's Court. — Natalie McLellan said her daughter was kind and loyal

McLellan's mother described her daughter to the court as "sensitive, kind and fiercely loyal."

Outside court after the verdict, she said: "[My daughter] wanted help, she fought for help, she wanted to be in control of her life.

"She wasn't allowed that, she wasn't given that consistent care she should have been given."

Her mother had previously told the BBC about her daughter's experience trying to access mental health support and medication.

Rebecca McLellan was a force of nature who lit up a room, her mother said

Anthony Deery, chief nurse at the NHS trust, said: "We are very sorry for the profound distress that Rebecca's tragic loss has caused.

"We have carried out an extensive investigation into the care which Rebecca received, and would like to thank her family and friends for the vital contributions they made during this process.

"Learning from Rebecca's death has seen us introduce a new protocol to help us respond better when a young person comes to a mental health unit in distress without a planned appointment.

"We will now review the coroner's findings in detail and take any further action which is necessary to ensure we are delivering safer, kinder and better care."

The coroner said he would be looking at information which could form part of a prevention of future deaths report.