A grieving mum has spoken out about how her teenager was "let down" before he died, as she fights for change.
Tom Hollman fell from the top of the NCP car park in Pepper Street on September 4, 2017 in Chester. He died from his injuries in his mum's arms in hospital just five days later.
Now, mum Sharon said he was let down when he was alive after he was "failed" following mental health struggles, and is continuing to be let down in death due to "long delays" for an inquest, CheshireLive reports. She said: "Basically, Tom was failed in that not one person would ever step up and say 'why is he behaving like this'. There were just lots of missed opportunities."
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The 16-year-old first made an attempt on his life in 2015 before he was due to go and live with his dad in Kent. As a result, the family got the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in Cheshire involved, but when he moved, Sharon said CAHMS informed them they could not do "cross-county referrals".
She said Tom was told he would need to see a GP in Kent "as soon as possible", but he never went. His mental health deteriorated further and was often pulled up in school for bad behaviour before being excluded for putting his hand through a window.
The Malpas mum said: "He was basically crying out for help but because they weren't aware of how bad his mental health was, they didn't do anything about it."
Tom was also using cannabis, which Sharon believes he used to "dull the thoughts and feelings in his head". Despite attempts to intervene and help from his mum, she said this made her the "baddy in Tom's head." He began to deteriorate further and moved back to live with his mum on September 3, 2017.
Sharon, through her solicitor, has pushed the coroner to hold an Article 2 inquest, an enhanced investigation that is held when there are claims the state, or its agents, have "failed to protect the deceased against a human threat or other risk". She told CheshireLive: "The reason I was fighting for it was because I wanted things to change.
"I want people to acknowledge what they'd done wrong and for us to move forward in terms of what we can do to make sure another child doesn't go through this. Every behaviour is communication. There are too many teenagers even now, when we know so much about mental health and what young lads are going through, who just don't talk or open up."
Tom's inquest was opened back in September 2017 but the full hearing has yet to take place, almost five years since he died. Sharon blamed the delay in gathering evidence, the pandemic and coroners leaving the service after former Cheshire coroner Peter Sigee left to take up another position.
Sharon added: "It's as if Tom isn't important to them at all. He was let down when he was alive, nobody was interested. Now after he has died, I'm still having to fight because nobody is interested."
The letter from senior coroner Alan Moore to Sharon's solicitors about the delay read: "As a result of Mr Sigee’s departure, all his cases now need to be looked at and reallocated to another coroner. Given the number of Mr Sigee’s cases this will inevitably take time.
"In addition, I retire in June so for a period of time we will be operating with a reduced number of coroners. Mr Sigee is producing detailed handover notes on all his cases.
"Once these are available myself and my Area Coroner, Mrs Claire Welch, will begin the process of reallocating Mr Sigee’s cases to another coroner. She or I will be in touch with you once that process is complete. The coroner who takes over the case will also write to you outlining the next steps with a view to progressing the case as soon as possible.
"I apologise to you for any inconvenience this will cause. Please be assured that this case is being prioritised and we will write to you again with a further update as soon as possible."
A spokesperson for the Cheshire Coroner's Service told CheshireLive that they do not comment on individual cases but that Tom's case was being treated "as a priority" and a third pre-inquest review has since been scheduled for June 24.
