NHS Lanarkshire ordered to pay patient's family £250,000

A health board has been ordered to pay £250,000 to the family of a mentally ill woman who took her own life.

A judge found that NHS Lanarkshire acted negligently in caring for Lynette Giblen, 35, who died in Glasgow on 10 October 2016.

Ms Giblen’s family believe she was not provided with proper care following her release from hospital.

NHS Lanarkshire said it would consider the judgement and that its thoughts remained with her loved ones.

Ms Giblen was 16 when she was diagnosed with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder.

The Court of Session heard that the mother-of-two had been discharged from a psychiatric ward at Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, in September 2016.

She then went to live with her mother Violet Paterson, 78, in Glasgow.

It was the fourth time she had been discharged from hospital that year.

Ms Giblen’s family believed medics failed to provide her with proper care in the immediate time following her release.

In the last few weeks of her life she was said to be displaying poor mental health and having “delusional beliefs”.

Dr Charles Musters, a consultant psychiatrist, said due to Ms Giblen’s condition he believed she needed “considerable support” following her release from hospital.

He added that doctors in charge had failed to provide measures for sufficient care and that she was expected to wait for 24 days before her care plan would begin.

The court heard that Ms Giblen left hospital not knowing when she would be next seen by a medical professional.

Dr Musters added: “On the basis of that substantial body of evidence I am content to hold that there was a significant deterioration in the deceased’s condition with obvious signs of delusional beliefs.

“Had her improvement been maintained by appropriate post-discharge follow-up and care, the deceased’s deterioration and consequent completed suicide could and would on balance have been avoided.”

Judge Lord Arthurson described Mrs Giblen’s death as “truly tragic” and said the care she had received following her discharge had been “not good enough”.

He awarded Ms Paterson, who discovered her daughter and attempted to resuscitate her, £100,000.

Ms Giblen’s children Alissa, 20, and Kristofer, 22, were awarded £70,000 each.

Ms Paterson’s two other children were each awarded £5,000.

The judge also paid tribute to Ms Giblen and said: “She was a beautiful singer, a gifted photographer, a loving mother and a most affectionate and dutiful daughter to her beloved mother.”

An NHS Lanarkshire spokeswoman said: “We have just received the judgement and will consider it in full.

“We understand this has been an extremely difficult time for the family and our thoughts and sympathies remain with them.”