A 12-year-old girl who was found dead at her home during the pandemic had taken her own life after feeling bullied and isolated, an inquest has heard.
Charley Ann Patterson was found dead by her dad at her home in Cramlington, Northumberland, on October 1, 2020. An inquest into her death heard how she told a nurse that she had been bullied online and she couldn't speak to her friends to reconcile due to being at home during the covid-19 lockdown.
The hearing, sitting at County Hall in Morpeth, Northumberland, heard how advanced paediatric nurse practitioner Rachel Lucy Bell spoke to the youngster when she was admitted to Northumbria Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington. The youngster was admitted for issues with her fingers but there were concerns over cuts on her arm as well.
Northumberland Coroner's Court heard how Charley had previously self harmed on two occasions as she felt she needed to "punish" herself. Ms Bell told the inquest: "She seemed to have quite low self esteem. She mentioned some bullying and isolation. She said she was being pushed out, ignored.
"I think she had just been recently moved schools. She had a break down of a friendship there, I think she was feeling isolated from her peers. When they were bullying her online she couldn’t speak to them face to face at school and try and reconcile.
“A friend from a previous school, when Charley had tried to reach out to them, said they never wanted to be friends with Charley in the first place and a teacher had made them. She seemed really hurt about that."
The nurse said that Charley's death came as a shock to her. She said: "She wasn’t one of the people who I had on my radar as someone I was majorly concerned about."
Charley and her mum Jamie had previously visited GP Hannah Hamilton at Collingwood Health Group in North Shields after the first time she hurt herself. Charley described her mood as being 10 out of 10 at home and school and on that day it was eight out of 10 as she didn't want to come to the doctor's surgery.
She told the inquest how she had agreed with Jamie that if she had any further concerns that she would book a follow up appointment, reports ChronicleLive. Dr Hamilton told the court she could not see Charley's previous health records from her time at a previous GP surgery due to the computer system which Collingwood Medical Group used.
Dr Hamilton said they relied on concerns being flagged up. The inquest heard how Charley then transferred to Cramlington Medical Group, which used a different computer system, in December 2019 and they received her patient record in April.
GP Rachel Roberts confirmed that she was not aware of the two appointments at Collingwood Medical Group. She said that old patient notes were stored in the back officer where they kept all of the patient files.
Dr Roberts said: "Unless you had a reason to look at old notes you wouldn’t go and access them." Coroner Andrew Hetherington asked her: "Is there a risk that consultations and prior information could be missed?" She replied: "Absolutely."
The inquest continues.
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