A 17-year-old transgender boy who took his own life on a mental health ward felt “worthless” and “could never think of anything good about himself” immediately before he died, an inquest heard.
Charlie Millers, from Stretford, had been bullied at school and misgendered by healthcare workers in the five days leading up to his death, and he struggled with his mental health, Rochdale coroner’s jury heard.
On December 2, 2020, he was found unconscious in his room on the youth mental health unit at Prestwich Hospital’s Junction 17, where he passed away from a brain injury five days later.
In less than a month, he was the second youngster to die at the hospital’s overworked unit.
Due to a police investigation into whether data had been hacked, the inquiry heard how Charlie had a history of mental health issues since he was 11 years old, with a history of self-harm and several suicide attempts that were escalating over the years.
Dr. Laura Eccleston, the clinical psychologist in charge of the hospital, described Charlie as a “lovely child, truly mischievous and caring”.
“He had profound feelings of shame and struggled to experience a sense of self-worth,” she told the coroner, Joanne Kearsley.
Following what had been a challenging time filled with staff shortages, Eccleston said she was deeply affected by Charlie’s death. She said, “I wanted to do my best for all the young individuals on the ward.” “I was stretched and it was difficult.”
When asked by the mother’s attorney if she thought Charlie’s mental health had deteriorated as a result of being in the hospital, she said, “No one wants a child to be in an acute setting.”
However, she admitted that the unit was “in some ways causing harm to Charlie” because he self-harmed more while he was in the hospital out of fear of harming his family.
Dr. Polly Carmichael, a consultant clinical psychologist who was overseeing the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at the time, also testified at the inquest.
GIDS operated from the North London Tavistock and Portman Centre, which closed last month after an interim report found that the facility’s long waiting list was “neither safe nor feasible.”
She said Charlie, who had been receiving treatment from the Leeds GIDS support, had a “complex” situation and struggled to express his feelings due to his mental health issues, making it difficult for him to articulate his feelings and impossible for him to use puberty blockers to address his gender dysphoria.
Puberty blockers are prescribed to give a child the opportunity to consider whether to take gender-affirming hormones. The vast majority of children who take puberty blockers go on to take gender-affirming hormones, such as testosterone, as adults.
She said his mental health would have needed to be stable before he could receive hormones and that there were “various notes in our records about difficulty putting words to his feelings.”
She added, “For young people with autism, that would undoubtedly slow down the process.”
She said Charlie had expressed frustration about the slowness of his treatment, and that being 17 years old would have made access to care more challenging.
The inquiry continues.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted at freephone 116 123, or email [email protected] or [email protected]. In the US, you may call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, chat at suicidepreventionlifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Various international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.
