Hove mother killed herself the day after being discharged from Hove mental hospital (From The Argus)

Hove mother killed herself the day after being discharged from Hove mental hospital

3:20pm Wednesday 31st October 2012 in News By Peter Truman

A daughter says she was “robbed” of her mother, who committed suicide the day after being discharged from hospital.

Chloe Pynn’s mum, Jackie Stansby, was a patient at Mill View Hospital in Hove but was discharged the day before she was found dead on Brighton beach in April.

An internal review into the case by Mill View, seen by The Argus, revealed the doctor who approved her discharge had not looked at earlier reports which had repeatedly argued for continued detention.

Mrs Pynn said: “I feel my mum was robbed of her human right, the ‘right to life’. I’d seen her get better before, and I had hoped I’d see it again. I feel she was not protected at Mill View. I still cannot believe she is dead.”

Mrs Stansby suffered from a mental disorder which made her believe her daughter had been kidnapped and replaced with an imposter.

The 53-year-old also believed her phone and television had been bugged and a criminal gang were after her.

She had been sectioned and was at the Hove institute, but the day before an appeal hearing was due over her detention she was discharged after being assessed by Dr Munzinger, her responsible clinician.

Her mother’s apparent improvement was part of her condition and should have been picked up, Mrs Pynn said. She added: “The consultant only saw her ‘brightened’ mood the day she died, which is well observed on the last days of those who take their own lives.”

Mrs Pynn added she felt she was not involved enough in the internal inquiry at the hospital.

She said: “I have been robbed of my mother, and now robbed of the chance to help other families who may have a loved one in Mill View. Her death has been in vain.”

The hospital had contacted Chloe’s grandmother and had assumed she would communicate with the whole family, including Chloe, and expressed its regret if this was not the case.

A spokesman for Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said: “We extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Jacqueline Stansby for their loss.

“We involved family members in our review of the care provided to her. We agree with the family that Jacqueline needed to be in hospital.

“However, under the Mental Health Act we were required to review whether it was legal to keep her detained in hospital under compulsion.”

The inquest, which concluded on October 8, confirmed that that the decision to lift the detention was lawful.