The death of a young woman in a private hospital could have been avoided, according to an inquest.

Emma Pring, 29, took her own life while hospitalized at Cygnet Hospital in Maidstone in April 2021.

She was considered a risk to herself at the time of her death and had been diagnosed with PTSD and depression, caused by surviving two sexual assaults. She was receiving trauma therapy at the hospital, which the inquest heard she found “extremely difficult”.

Caroline Sharp, Pring’s mother, told the Maidstone inquest she felt her death came from a ‘call for help’ and that she was ‘a ray of light through her own darkness for his family and friends.

“I am deeply concerned that this was a call for help and that his death was preventable,” Sharp said.

Pring, who was struggling to secure a traineeship in trauma care, was admitted to Cygnet after NHS Kent and the Medway Clinical Commissioning Group agreed to fund her hospital stay. Sharp told the inquest she thought it would be a “turning point in her life”.

The inquest heard how she found trauma therapy difficult and phoned her mother saying she ‘couldn’t cope’. While in the hospital, Pring self-harmed and was taken to A&E on one occasion, although her mother was not told.

Upon returning to Cygnet, Pring was placed under 15-minute observation due to her level of risk. However, Tom Stonate, the attorney representing Pring’s family, put forward the idea that a full-time individual observation regime might have prevented his death.

Dr. Daniela Herescu, a consultant psychiatrist at Cygnet, said other measures, such as giving Pring “anti-ligature” clothing, had been taken.

On Friday, the inquest jury agreed that individual observations “could have prevented his death”.

He concluded that her death occurred due to an “insufficient level of observation and a poor appreciation of Emma’s real risk”.

The coroner, Catherine Wood, is also considering releasing reports about preventing future deaths regarding risk assessment and information sharing at Cygnet Hospital, and the lack of national standards regarding the manufacture of anti-stress clothing. -ligation in the UK.

Sharp said she believes her daughter will receive the best care “money can buy”.

“When Emma transferred to Cygnet Maidstone on July 23, 2020, I thought Emma would be getting Rolls-Royce care, the best money she could offer,” she said. “I was hoping this would be a turning point in Emma’s life. Instead, Emma was completely stranded by Cygnet.

“The damning findings of the jury vindicate the concerns about Emma’s care that we have had throughout. She was struggling to cope with the trauma therapy she was receiving and her cries for help – which were becoming increasingly desperate – were ignored. It is a tragedy to know that his death was preventable.

Lucy McKay, spokesperson for INQUEST, said: “Society must do more to respond to trauma and support survivors of sexual assault long before their health reaches crisis point. Mental health care providers nationwide should reflect on the evidence from this investigation, including the unsafe use of “anti-ligation” garments instead of adequate risk assessment and observation. »