3 hours ago
Credit, Hudgell Solicitors
caption,
Laura Winham had schizophrenia and wanted no contact with her family
The body of a mentally ill British woman has been found at her home after spending three and a half years dead there.
Laura Winham’s family, 38, said they were “abandoned and left to die” by the NHS, the UK’s public health network, and social care services.
Her family members said these professionals missed several opportunities to save her, neglecting her welfare before her death and refraining from routine visits that could have led to the discovery of her body.
The family said they were unable to contact Laura because of UK data protection laws after the schizophrenic woman refused to keep in touch with her relatives, believing they were trying to harm her.
One of her brothers, Roy, claimed that Laura’s relatives were unable to obtain any information about her or had been unsuccessful in making repeated attempts to contact her, and that they found her body after looking through the door to her flat in Woking, northeast England.
Laura’s body was discovered in May 2021 but is believed to have died in November 2017. The case is being investigated by the British judiciary.
no contact
Her siblings said Laura was raised in a loving family and attended school and university, but she developed mental health problems and did not return home after being accepted into an institution for the first time.
The family decided to limit contact because it put them under “enormous stress” but believed she would be in professional care. However, due to privacy concerns, they were not given any information about her.
“She has banned contact between the mental health team and her family and that has stopped doctors from speaking to us,” her sister Nicky said.
Credit, Hudgell Solicitors
caption,
Laura’s body was discovered by her brother on the first floor of this building.
Laura’s family continued to send letters, text messages and cards. When his father fell ill, his relatives intensified their attempts to contact him. After his death, they continued to call her apartment.
On their last visit, they were about to leave when Roy decided to look around again. “When I looked through the mailbox it looked like there were blankets in there, but when I looked down I thought I saw a foot,” he said.
“There was a sweatshirt she was wearing which I thought was along with blankets and stuff. I could look at it from a different angle and I could see the face, the body.”
He said: “Something made me go back upstairs that day, but unfortunately what I saw haunted me for a long time.”
Originally published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional64340289