Boy hanged himself after being turned down for depression help

  • George Lomas was referred for help with mental health by his village doctor 
  • But Derbyshire County Council’s service, Starting Point, rejected him in review 
  • Inquest heard how child protection scheme did not inform the boy or his mother
  • The 16-year-old deputy head boy was later found hanged at his father’s house 

The mother of a 16-year-old found hanged says he might still be alive had he not been turned away by a service designed to protect youngsters.

Autistic George Lomas from Derbyshire was pronounced dead at his father’s house in Pinxton on August 7 last year.

Council-run Starting Point had turned him down despite a referral from his GP, but failed to notify his mother, Zoe Wallis. 

George Lomas (pictured) was found hanged at his father’s house after being turned down for a council-run mental health service 

She told Chesterfield Coroners’ Court she had taken her son to his doctor in South Normanton in March last year after he started feeling low at the beginning of 2017, reports Derbyshire Times.

Ms Wallis said George looked as though he ‘had the weight of the world on his shoulders’ when she took him to the village surgery and was immediately referred to Derbyshire County Council’s service.

When she ‘wasn’t informed of any outcome’, Ms Wallis says she phoned the surgery on multiple occasions and was told the referral had been made.  George’s GP, Doctor Saif Malik told yesterday’s inquest he referred the teenager. 

Starting Point’s acting head of service, Rachel Harrisson, said the referral was rejected after a review decided ‘what George needed was something more specialist’. 

An inquest at Chesterfield Coroners' Court (pictured) heard how the youngster was rejected from the service 

An inquest at Chesterfield Coroners’ Court (pictured) heard how the youngster was rejected from the service 

The court heard neither Ms Wallis nor George were contacted about any further appointments of any kind.

‘Why wasn’t I phoned?’ Ms Wallis asked. ‘If he’d got that bit of help, we might not be sat here.’

After being diagnosed with autism aged 10, George went on to achieve ‘oustanding’ GCSE results at Frederick Gent School, where he was deputy head boy and sat on the school council.

The court heard how he was eagerly anticipating his A levels and planned to go to university. The inquest will conclude at a later date. 

Ms Wallace told the Derbyshire Times her ‘handsome’ son was ‘very much loved and is missed by all of us’. 

  • For confidential support in the UK, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see samaritans.org

 

 



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