Anorexic girl 'may not have intended to die', coroner says

A girl who suffered from anorexia and was found hanged may not have intended to take her own life, a coroner found.

Ellie Long, from Wymondham, Norfolk, once said she would rather kill herself than eat and had previously written a suicide note, a Norwich inquest heard.

But the coroner was not satisfied 15-year-old Ellie, who was found hanged in her room in 2017, "intended to die".

Ellie's mother Nicki Long said: "To explain our feelings of loss is to explain the unthinkable."

Ellie died in hospital on 12 December, two days after being found in her bedroom.

Recording a narrative verdict, coroner Jacqueline Lake said: "Ellie Long took action which took her own life. The evidence does not show whether she intended to die."

Mrs Lake said there had been a "clear deterioration in [Ellie's] mental health" but she had denied suicidal thoughts.

She said she could not be "satisfied" Ellie intended to die from her actions and no letter had been found, although Ellie had written one previously.

Speaking after the hearing through solicitor Elizabeth Andresen, Ellie's family said there were "issues which impacted on the care Ellie received, including a lack of available staff, failures in crisis planning and the need for better record-keeping".

"We feel she was not given the support and treatment she needed by the eating disorders service," they added.

Paying tribute, Mrs Long said Ellie was a "beautiful, intelligent and wonderful young lady", who put "others' needs and feelings before her own".

During the inquest, her family said they had been "failed by everyone".

They said they feared for her during a hospital stay when Ellie said she would rather kill herself than eat.

They also told how three days before Ellie's death, Mrs Long had called for an ambulance but was advised to take her daughter to a walk-in centre.

Bohdan Solomka, Norfolk and Suffolk Mental Health Trust's medical director, said there had been a review following Ellie's death and improvements - including those to record-keeping - had been made, while "staffing levels in the team are now at full strength".

"The coroner's independent psychiatric expert gave evidence that Ellie reported no plan or previous attempts which would have alerted professionals," he said.

"The trust acknowledges all of Ellie's mum's efforts to do the best for her daughter."