health
February 2, 2026
Lack of mental health beds contributed to UK teenager’s death, inquest finds
Poor communication also cited as factor in death of Ellame Ford-Dunn, 16, on Worthing hospital’s grounds
TL;DR
- A shortage of mental health beds and poor inter-agency communication contributed to the death of Ellame Ford-Dunn, 16.
- Ellame died in March 2022 after absconding from an acute children's ward where she was placed due to a lack of appropriate mental health beds.
- The inquest jury deemed the decision to place Ellame in the Bluefin ward inappropriate and a contributing factor to her death.
- Jurors found inadequate provision of mental health beds and poor coordination, communication, and accountability between multiple agencies also contributed.
- Inconsistency in nursing handovers, inadequate instructions for agency nurses, and unclear policies for missing patients were identified issues.
- Ellame's parents are urging the government to increase funding for mental health services and for trusts to create effective specialist provision for young people.
- A charity described the mental health system as "crumbling at the seams" due to a lack of specialist beds and a dismissive response to Ellame's distress.
- University hospitals Sussex (UHSussex), which runs the ward, was previously fined £200,000 over Ellame's death.
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