20-year-old woman suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder, died at Chesterfield clinic - inquest hears

A 20-year-old woman, suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder, died at a mental health facility in Chesterfield.

On Monday, May 9, Chesterfield Coroner’s Court heard that Leya Clephane-Lewis, 20, died at Chesterfield Royal Hospital on August 17 2020.

Leya was an inpatient at Cygnet Acer Clinic in Mastin Moor, a facility, which specialises in treatment for women suffering with personality disorders.

Assistant Coroner, Susan Evans, said that Leya had been a patient in several health care settings since 2017, and had been detained under the Mental Health Act on a number of occasions.

She had been sexually assaulted when she was a child, and had also previously attempted suicide. She had been diagnosed with emotional unstable personality disorder and complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

Miss Evans said that, on July 14 2020, Leya was detained again under Section 3 of the Mental Health Act. She was allowed a period of leave at the start of August, but on her return to the facility on August 8, she told staff she had taken cocaine.

At this point, staff at the facility increased their observations of Leya, so that she was being checked on four times an hour. However, on the day of her death, this was decreased to two times an hour.

At 7.06pm, Leya was checked on by a member of staff, with whom she had interacted. At 7.31pm, she was found dead.

The pathologist who performed Leya’s autopsy found that she had died after suffering a hypoxic brain injury, caused by partial suspension by ligature.

He said Leya had been resuscitated and taken to hospital, where medical staff had started treatment. However, doctors determined that the brain injury she had suffered was unsurvivable – after this prognosis, treatment was withdrawn and Leya passed away.

He added that nothing else found during her autopsy indicated any alternative reason for her death.

The inquest continues.

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