The family of a woman who was found in a "mummified almost skeletal state" in her flat say social services "washed their hands of her" while she was at her most vulnerable.
Laura Winham, 38, had been lying dead in her home for nearly four years and had written 'I need help' on her calendar a short time before her death.
No one from social services or her apparent support network had checked on her well-being in years.
Laura had schizophrenia and it had caused her to believe her family would harm her, the family said.
They added it left them in a heart-breaking situation where they were unable to maintain contact because the situation only grew worse when they tried to help her.
The family eventually stood back and respected her wishes and believed she would be cared for by local adult care services and mental health teams in Woking, Surrey.
Laura's sister Nicky said: "Everybody who was in contact with Laura and had a duty to her at some stage simply wiped their hands of her and forgot her. She was abandoned and left to die."
She said her "much-loved younger sister completely changed in front of our own eyes".
Speaking about the family's decision to reduce contact, she said: "She believed all these voices in her head which were turning her against us, her own family. It put us in this terribly sad position of not knowing what to do for the best.
“And it was frightening. We couldn’t get through to her, each time we tried she seemed to get worse and would disappear in her car driving round the country, we did not know where she was.
"She was very clearly suffering from hallucinations and feelings of being persecuted."
Nicky said the family tried to get Laura to help in 2006, but after leaving the hospital she refused to come home.
She said: "My brother and I managed to maintain some contact in the first few years after, but it was inconsistent, tense and fragile.
“Contact with us seemed to put her under enormous strain and we always worried could make her worse again. We would try but it always had to be on her terms and slowly over the years the contact lessened and eventually stopped.
“As a family we weren’t given any help to deal with her illness, she refused to see us and, in the end, we very sadly had to respect her wishes and leave her to professionals who support people like her every day.
“We felt reassured that she had been given her own home, she was entitled to benefits, she had her own car and some part-time work, a few friends and we believed she would be supported by her mental health team and others moving forward."
Laura's body was found by her brother Roy in May 2021 after he peered through the letterbox to find see what appeared to be a foot under a blanket.
It is believed she died in November 2017, as the markings she had made on her calendar stopped and it was shortly after she had written ‘I need help’.
It is now believed no one had physically seen Laura in three-and-a-half years.
In 2014, a referral was made to Woking Community Mental Health Recovery and her GP said she was unwell and no one appeared to be watching her.
The solicitors say this was never followed up.
In 2016, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) wrote to Laura several times to say her Disability Living Allowance (DLA) would be ending and she would need to apply for Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
The payments stopped after the solicitors say checks were not carried out to see if she had been able to decide for herself to reapply.
In October 2017, a month before it is thought Laura died, Surrey Police reported concerns to the Surrey County Council after visiting.
The officers, who are also thought to have been the last to see Laura alive, said she had been self-neglecting, had little food and appeared unaware of how to access local services for help.
They also told the council her phone was not working.
However, the adult social care teams tried to call her, and then simply wrote to her providing details of local food banks and contact details for support teams.
When they did not receive a response, her case was reportedly closed in the system without any contact being made.
When no response was forthcoming, her case was closed on the system after two weeks, without any contact ever being made.
It is believed Laura died a few weeks later in November 2017, as the markings she had made on her calendar stopped – shortly after she had written ‘I need help’.
Laura's gas and electric bills continued to be paid through housing benefits even after she had died and an annual gas safety check had been registered in January 2018.
Her rent continued to be paid through housing benefits, and a gas safety check was even registered as having been carried out by contractors in January 2018.
When Roy and his mum Marilyn got access to the flat they found a mountain of post which had built up over the years.
She was identified by her dental records, but the cause of her death was unestablished.
Nicky added: "The fact that she was dead for so long suggests failures all round to meet her basic human needs.
“We always hoped she would get better with professional help and that one day our contact would resume. We never believed for one second, we would end up finding her dead on her floor having laid there for so long without anyone knowing."
Iftikhar Manzoor, who is representing the family, said "This is a hugely tragic and sad case. It is a life of a vulnerable person lost because she was lost in a failing system."
He added: "Without a doubt, these were clear missed opportunities to intervene and carry out a welfare check."
He continued: “Laura should never have been alone in a block of boarded-up flats. Given her disabilities and needs, she should have been placed in assisted living accommodation. Her family made many attempts to contact her."
A pre-inquest review hearing into Laura's death is scheduled to take place on January 30 at Surrey Coroner’s Court.
