A HEALTH trust that provides mental health services in North Yorkshire says it is making improvements following the death of a young woman.
Zoe Zaremba, 25, from North Yorkshire, took her own life after receiving a lack of support from mental health services, an inquest concluded this week.
Zoe, from Bedale, who was diagnosed with autism aged 16, was reported missing on Sunday, June 14, 2020, before her body was discovered on June 22.
Coroner John Broadbridge, who led an inquest into Zoe's death, concluded she had taken her own life, and that a lack of understanding and support for autism from Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust did contribute to Zoe’s death.
The inquest heard that Zoe received inpatient care at West Park Hospital in Darlington, and autism services from The Retreat in York.
The inquest heard that Zoe was discharged from the hospital on May 20, however she did not receive an appropriate mental healthcare plan to support her autism.
Elizabeth Moody, director of nursing and governance at the trust, said: “We know this will have been an incredibly difficult week for Zoe’s family and friends, we are truly sorry for their loss.
“While we have made improvements to our services to better support autistic people and their families and carers, there is still more we must do.
“We are hugely grateful to Zoe’s family for working closely with us to embed a deeper understanding of autism and the adjustments that may be needed to support autistic people to access our services.”
The trust said some of the improvements already made included training for teams to better identify autism, increased support from experts for teams around care planning and any adjustments that may be needed to support patients and their families.
It said the trust was working much more closely with patients and families to create care plans, with their input being central to the plan.
The inquest had heard that, while under the care of the trust, Zoe had fought to have an incorrect diagnosis of borderline personality disorder removed from her records.
She was admitted to A&E 37 times following attempts to take her life.
Jean Zaremba, Zoe’s mother, was the last person to see Zoe alive before she left the family home on Saturday, June 13.
Jean told the inquest: “Zoe was very intelligent, with a dry sense of humour, achieved good results at school, always passing exams first time, and qualified as an accountant – she lacked self esteem and was just starting to appreciate how intelligent she was.
“She was kind, and enjoyed gymnastics and horse riding.”
Contact York Samaritans at www.samaritans.org or telephone for free: 116 123
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