Lack of mental health beds contributed to UK teenager’s death, inquest finds

Ellame Ford-Dunn died in March 2022 after absconding from an acute children’s ward. Photograph: PA

A shortage of mental health beds and poor communication between agencies contributed to the death of a teenage girl on hospital grounds, an inquest has found.

Ellame Ford-Dunn, 16, who had a history of self-harm, died in March 2022 after absconding from an acute children’s ward where she had been put because of a dearth of appropriate mental health beds.