Mother of Grantham girl Evelyn Gibson tells inquest her daughter was ‘systematically let down’
The parents of a young girl who suffered with mental health issues have told an inquest their daughter was “systematically let down time and time again”.
The inquest into the death of 15-year-old Grantham girl Evelyn Gibson, who died on April 15, 2022, opened at the Myle Cross Centre in Lincoln today (Monday, November 18).
The inquest heard that Evelyn had a history of anxiety, anorexia, and non-epileptic seizures, along with other mental health issues, and had spent time in hospitals, including Lincoln County Hospital and the Beacon Hospital, in the years leading to her death.
In a pen portrait read out during the inquest, parents Jenni and Jack Swift recounted Evelyn’s creative and caring nature, her struggles with body image, and their efforts to navigate her care.
They described Evelyn as academic, throwing herself into everything her primary school had to offer and joining several sports clubs.
She also sang in Huntingtower Community Choir and represented the school at several events, as well as singing The Bare Necessities to millions of people on Chris Evans’ Radio 2 breakfast show.
“You could tell she was star-struck because she didn’t correct Chris when he pronounced her name wrong and called her ‘Eve-lyn’,” they said.
Up until the end of primary school, Jenni and Jack said Evelyn was “like any other girl her age: happy, fun, loving, excitable”.
“People would always comment on her beautiful big smile. Evelyn had a pure and joyful nature, with a beaming smile that lit up a room and the most intoxicating and contagious laugh. She filled our lives with joy and laughter.”
Evelyn’s life was also filled with kindness and charity, raising money for the Red Cross Philippines Typhoon appeal and donating her piggy bank to Comic Relief so that children in Africa could go to school.
Jenni and Jack said she was “incredibly kind, thoughtful, and generous,” adding that she had a “strong moral compass”.
As she grew up, she enjoyed reading, her favourite series being Harry Potter.
When Jack proposed to Jenni, Evelyn helped choose the ring and hid it in her bedroom. She was also Jenni’s chief bridesmaid at their wedding in 2015 and the “best big sister” to a little brother born when she was 11.
She enjoyed baking, going on to set up her own little business, leading her family to joke about her going on The Great British Bake Off.
Despite being "excited and proud” to have passed her 11+ and go on to Kesteven and Grantham Girls’ School, she began to have troubles.
Her parents said she was anxious because she was the only girl from her primary school to go to KGGS.
“It was a very different environment for her to adjust to. She found it hard to find her place,” said her parents.
She suffered trauma in her life and started to struggle with her mental health, over time becoming low in mood and losing her self-worth.
She became incredibly anxious, developed anorexia nervosa, and started self-harming, eventually resulting in hospital stays.
Correspondence read out in court heard how she had written: “I feel so ugly all the time. I always think people think I’m fat.
“Every time I eat the voice gets louder.”
She had written a piece of coursework on mental health and eating disorders, backing it up with her own struggles and noting that she felt she should have been assessed earlier.
She advocated for more training and for mental health to be taken as seriously as physical health.
Her mother took her to the GP for the first time in 2018, but by 2020 Evelynwas skipping lunches, constantly comparing herself to her peers, and exercising excessively, resulting in injuries such as pressure sores.
She was particularly affected once the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown came into effect due to the lack of face-to-face contact.
During a period of time in hospital, her family said they struggled to get her school to send work, which would have given her structure.
Evelyn also struggled while in hospital, in one instance attempting to run away towards a main road before being caught by a security guard.
“As her illness took its toll, we felt our girl would seem to disappear, lost in a world of fear and doubt,” said her parents.
They added that despite forming great relationships with staff and patients, “it was an incredibly difficult time for Evelyn and us as a family to navigate.
“At times, the light seemed to switch off in Evelyn’s eyes, and we were willing her to come back to us.”
Despite this, “she was adamant she didn’t want it to define her life,” they added.
During her darkest times, Evelyn would continue doing random acts of kindness, even writing supportive notes to fellow patients. She also had several close friends who were a light to her.
Evelyn’s family are hoping the inquest will answer questions they have about the care their daughter received prior to her death.
At the time of her death, she had been involved with CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) and was known to the local Crisis Mental Health Team.
In July 2021, she had been admitted to the Beacon Hospital (run by the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust), initially as a voluntary patient, before being detained under the Mental Health Act and, at times, placed on 2:1 staffing support owing to the risk of self-harm.
Concerns have been raised about hospital discharges and a lack of mental health support during her treatment.
Mother Jenni raised concerns about comments made to Evelyn which were intended to be positive but would have had a negative impact on someone with anorexia, such as praise for putting on weight.
She felt some discharges were carried out too quickly, particularly around Christmas. However, it was also felt that continued trauma at the hospital could also impact Evelyn negatively.
Her mum felt pressured to agree to her Christmas discharge from Beacon Hospital, but due to Evelyn being on the call she also feared a perceived rejection after a negative reaction played a role in Evelyn’s mind.
Her mother told the inquest: “I feel she was systematically let down time and time again. There were so many missed opportunities to help her early on, and all of those fed into the impression that she wasn’t worth any help.”
She was formally discharged on March 1, 2022.
The family would later take a holiday to Northumberland the week before Evelyn’s death, where she was described as “the happiest we had seen her for a number of years”.
She told her family she was relieved to be driving away from Grantham.
But after returning home, she “visibly struggled again”.
The night before she died she had a sleepover with a friend who she felt she could confide in and the day after was making plans for their birthday, appearing happy and positive.
Her mother then took her son to a playdate while Jack kept up 30 minute checkups. However, later that afternoon Evelyn disappeared sometime between 3.30-4pm, leaving her phone behind and sparking a search.
Her body was found in an area unfamiliar to the family and away from any of her known hangouts.
The medical cause of her death, a month before her 16th birthday, was ligature compression of the neck.
“We struggle to put into words the depth of our loss,” said Jenni and Jack.
“Evelyn made us proud every single day. She was incredibly loved and is incredibly missed by so many people. She left this world far too soon, leaving an indelible void.
“The world is a darker place without Evelyn, but we will be eternally grateful to have had the joy of her in our lives.”
The inquest is due to hear from representatives of Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust, Lincolnshire County Council, NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board, and Kesteven and Grantham Girls’ School.
During the inquest, Sarah Millott, a band six mental health nurse from LPFT’s CAMHS team, gave evidence during the afternoon, recounting her experience of Evelyn’s care.
Sarah oversaw much of Evelyn’s care and advocated on her behalf during the time she was with CAMHS.
Breaking into tears, she told the family during the inquest: “There are no words for me to describe the loss of Evelyn.
“Evelyn never wanted her mental health issues to define her, and to me, they never did.
“I will always think of the strength and love within your family and everything about Evelyn that made her the beautiful person she was. I will always remember her.”
The family has since founded Evelyn's Butterfly Effect, an organisation promoting random acts of kindness in her memory.
The inquest continues.
The Samaritans offer a free 24/7 helpline at 116 123, providing round-the-clock support. You can also reach them by email at jo@samaritans.org or visit samaritans.org for local branch details.
Locally there is also anew NHS 111 Emergency Mental Health Support line (dial 111 24hrs a day) links directly with our local crisis teams.
And the Lincolnshire Here4You advice line on 0800 234 6342 (open 24/7) for anyone seeking emotional wellbeing and mental health support for children and young people, it is open to parents too for help and advice.
