Coroner's verdict a whitewash - challenge to follow

Dr. Andrew Reid, the coroner for Inner North London, held a hearing last Thursday to deliver his verdict on the cause of my mum's death. Unsurprisingly, and in a highly criticised move, Dr. Reid decided to hand down a verdict of death by natural causes after failing in his legal duties to hold a full and proper inquest. Indeed, he did not even back up his verdict with reference to any law whatsoever, seemingly showing an arrogance for the position which he holds. My family now intend to take this further and will be writing to the Office for Judicial Supervision

After criticising my family for walking out of the hearing when he refused to hear our evidence, Dr. Reid said that my family's evidence was "irrelevant". With aggression imbued throughout a rushed verbal judgment where he refused to look at my family once, Dr. Reid said he was not interested in the high drug treatments my mother was forceably given, nor was he interested that my mum was regularly assaulted by patients due to her vulnerable nature. Dr. Reid clearly thought that is was acceptable to leave my mother with a number of serious health conditions untreated for months, including MRSA. He also condoned the actions of staff of the mental hospital the night my mum died, even though a security guard was found to have delayed life-saving treatment by sleeping whilst on duty, not allowing an ambulance crew access to the building.

However, as he went on to explain, he had a number of "more pressing cases" than the death of my mum. We believe this to be a miscarriage of justice, and incredibly disrespectful to the memory of my mother who, for over 40 years of her life, suffered the indignities and discrimination associated with a mental illness. Of course, his decision cannot go unchallenged and we look forward to holding Dr. Reid to account at the High Court in the coming weeks.

My family and I would like to express our thanks to everyone who has joined the campaign over the last few weeks - the supportive messages have been a true source of strength for us and we cannot thank enough all those who have offered to help. With the Mental Health Bill currently gong through Parliament - which will mean more people will find themselves coming in contact with mental health services - we believe it is vital to campaign for change.

Anything less would be disrespectful to my mother's memory, and to the memories of all who have not survived the mental health system in this country. It is not merely a matter of poor public services, but literally a matter of life and death.

In the next few days we will be asking our supporters for their assistance more than ever by writing to government officials and we plan to set up an online petition soon. Until then, my family and I would like to wish you a peaceful week.

Kind wishes,
Steven Allen and family