Justice for Jennifer

Who Am I?

I am Angela Lewis. I am fifty-one years old, four years older than Jennifer. I was one of Jennifer’s carers for the last twenty-five years of her life. I am devastated that the treatment Jennifer received from staff in the NHS, as a vulnerable adult, led to the shortening of her life. Jennifer's loss to us is hugely painful. It has left a gap in the lives of four generations of a large, extended family and many friends.

About Jennifer…

Jennifer was the youngest of eight children- a lovely baby, with big eyes. She was softly spoken, good-natured and easy-going. She excelled academically and went on to read law at Queen Mary College (University of London) but sadly, during the first year, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Despite the difficulties of this condition, Jennifer lived a full life for the next twenty years. This was largely down to routine, support from doctors, her church, family. Generally, Jennifer’s condition was stable and she was independent in most things. She even fulfilled her ambition to complete a degree. Many people with schizophrenia live a “normal” life; however they may experience episodes of depression, self-neglect and even denial about their condition. This was the case with Jennifer, and she experienced the “revolving door” of intermittent hospital admissions.

Bariatric (Barbaric!)Surgery:

Medication caused Jennifer, once willowy, to gain weight. We, her family, strongly objected to bariatric surgery. Having carried out exhaustive research, Jennifer gave the “right answers” to the doctors, and as a result, they wrongly assessed her to have capacity to weigh up the consequences of this drastic surgery.

Nowhere in their literature was death mentioned as the ultimate 'side effect' mentioned. In 2010, the surgeon removed a large section of Jennifer's stomach and intestine in one go. A less radical two-stage surgery, for those at risk such as Jennifer, was rejected.

“You Are Watching Jennifer Die!"

After surgery, both the psychiatric and the bariatric teams consistently failed Jennifer by neglecting her other needs whilst in their care. This undoubtedly shortened her life and destroyed the remaining life she had - it became one of constant pain, nausea, and turmoil. Jennifer was detained for 5years; at times she was catatonic and at other times, angry and frustrated. In her final months, when she was already suffering from the effects of starvation, the doctor persuaded Jennifer to undergo 12courses of ECT. We expressed our alarm that she was dying but were repeatedly reassured 'we won't let it come to that'. Only after our protests (she had become confused, disorientated, and forgetful and experience significant word-finding skills) was the ECT finally stopped after seven “treatments”. The medical team failed to recognise that Jennifer was too fragile to undergo this drastic treatment.

Jennifer died on the 31st July 2017, aged 44, as a result of malabsorption (essentially, starvation). At a four-day Inquest held in April 2019, we heard that Jennifer had not been seen by a dietician during the last years of her life; she had not been weighed, which had been falsely recorded. And the trust had failed to adhere to the nutritional protocols to protect vulnerable adults from such a tragedy.

We also heard that when they eventually transferred Jennifer to a medical hospital, it was already too late to save her – by now organ failure had set in. Only at this late stage did the psychiatrist recommend that, Jennifer be treated. Sadly, the decision to take life-saving action came too late. The hospital reported that Jennifer had painful pressure sores over her body and asked the unit to initiate a safeguarding investigation due to omission of care– evidence this happened remains outstanding two years later.

What Are Our Aims? 

The Coroner ruled that Jennifer’s death was as a result of ‘lack of care’, which suggest that her death was a mishap, accident or event that could not have been anticipated or prevented. ‘Neglect’ on the other hand, is a “gross failure to provide adequate nourishment or liquid, to provide basic medical attention…for someone in a dependent position (because of…illness or incarceration) who cannot provide it for himself.”

Her death was slow, painful but above all, avoidable and we do not accept the 'lack of care' verdict to which the coroner directed the jury is proportionate to the circumstances of her death; we were both shocked and disappointed by this direction. 

We are seeking a Judicial Review of the Coroner’s ruling. The ruling is important because Jennifer's life and death deserves a fair and accurate recording. It will determine the strength of future legal actions and our ability to hold those responsible to account.

How Much Do We Need to Raise?

Should justice depend on the ability of ordinary working people to pay? We think not! 

We ask that you support us in our aim to get justice for Jennifer and to ensure that lessons are learned from this most cruel and premature deaths. We are aiming to raise £14,000.

Thank you.

The Lewis Family

July 2019