Clare Childes Wiki – Clare Childes Biography
Clare Childes was a mother-of-three hanged herself just two hours after her GP told her he would ‘give her a ring tomorrow’ during a phone appointment to discuss her urgent mental health, an inquest has heard.
Childes reported suicidal thoughts during a 13-minute call with Dr. Gwilym Evans on March 31 this year, telling him that she had downed a bottle of alcohol and considered hanging herself later that evening.
But she was not immediately referred to a mental health crisis team over concerns she would not be seen because she had been drinking.
The doctor initially told her that he would call her back the next day.
Mrs. Childes was found dead in her home by her son’s girlfriend just two hours after the telephone call.
Age
She was 46 years old.
Clare Childes Hanged Herself
The death of Mrs. Childes came just weeks before general practices were told to return to face-to-face appointments by the NHS.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid is set to unveil a package of measures in the coming days to tear up Covid rules stopping family doctors from seeing patients face-to-face.
The latest figures suggest that fewer than 60 percent of GP appointments in England help in person, compared to 80 percent before the pandemic.
Health bosses told surgeries to ensure all patients could see their doctors in May, but some practices later ignored the order.
Campaigners point out that in-person appointments are vital to pick up on symptoms and conditions that might otherwise be missed. There are also fears that patients may be ignoring potentially difficult issues because of the access issues.
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At the inquest, Dr. Evans said Mrs. Childes had told him she was having suicidal thoughts, which had been made worse by the lockdown.
But he delayed contacting the crisis team because she said she had ‘knocked down a bottle of Disaronno to stop the pain.’
Inquest
The inquest heard Dr. Evans called back later that same day at 5:45 pm on March 31, but it went straight to answer the phone.
Dr. Evans said he went on a mental health training course following the tragic death of Mrs. Childes.
He added: ‘I’d make the referral straight away now.
‘At the time, I was concerned about the presentation of Clare as she told me she had drunk a lot and I was concerned they would not be willing to accept a referral if she was under the influence of alcohol.’
He said he had wanted to ‘wait until the effects of the alcohol had worn off.’
The inquest heard Mrs. Childes had only been left alone for 40 minutes before her son’s girlfriend found her body.
Daughter Kimberley Childes said her mum had been saying she ‘couldn’t cope’ in the lead up to her death.
Kimberely said: ‘She had a history of poor mental health which worsened during the lockdown.
‘Mam begged the doctor to do something, but she was told to wait until the next day.
‘I never imagined she would do something like this.
‘She loved going out and socializing and will be sadly missed by family and friends.’
Acting senior coroner Katie Sutherland recorded a conclusion of death by hanging.
She said: ‘Clare had a history of mental health problems and during the telephone consultation which began at 13.56, she said she felt suicidal.
‘She was told a referral would be made to the mental health team, but it was not made.’
A package from Health Secretary Sajid Javid to address the crisis in GP access will be announced in the coming days.
Rules set to be on the chopping block include the two-meter social distancing rule in surgeries. This was dropped by hospitals last month.
GPs could also have their workload eased, with hospitals writing more prescriptions and sickness notes for workers. And onerous cleaning requirements could be scaled back.
