Woman found dead in flat after three years had been ‘left to fend for herself'

Yahoo

25-02-2025

The family of a woman who lay dead in her flat for more than three years have criticised social services for failing to support a 'vulnerable person' and leaving her to 'fend for herself'.
Laura Winham's 'mummified and almost skeletal' remains were found by her brother in her flat in Woking, Surrey, on May 24 2021.
Ms Winham, who was 41 when discovered, was found after her relatives asked police to break into her home following concerns about her safety.
An inquest held at Surrey Coroner's Court ruled her cause of death was 'unascertained' and found it was impossible to narrow down a time of death, but a calendar in Ms Winham's flat had dates crossed off until November 1 2017.
On Tuesday, coroner Karen Henderson ruled there were 'lost opportunities' for multiple agencies in the run-up to her death, including Woking Borough Council and its former contractor, New Vision Homes, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and Surrey County Council's adult social care team.
The court heard that, following a police referral in October 2017, the county council's adult social care team called and wrote to Ms Winham offering advice about food banks, but did not visit the property.
Closing the inquest, Dr Henderson described the team's investigation as 'perfunctory in almost every way' but added that it was not possible to conclude these 'lost opportunities materially contributed' to Ms Winham's death.
In a statement read out by the family's solicitor, Iftikhar Manzoor, alongside Ms Winham's brother Roy and mother Marilyn, thedy said: 'When Laura was referred to adult social care in October 2017, as the police raised concerns as to her having little food or money and being without a network of friends or family, all that happened was a letter that was sent and that was a huge opportunity missed to assess Laura's health and to take action.
'Laura was clearly a person potentially at risk but she wasn't deemed worthy of visiting. She was left to fend herself.
'Even her own diary entries illustrate she was unable to cope.
'Had adult social care visited Laura's home within a few days of the referral in October 2017 then Laura would be alive.'
The court previously heard that Ms Winham's family last saw her in person in 2009, and contact over social media had stopped in 2014 after she sent them a message on Facebook which read: 'It is best to have minimum/no contact. And communications with the family. It is totally out of my hands. There is nothing I can do. Everything I say will get repeated and relayed back. Be patient.'
The family said they believed they were doing the right thing by respecting Ms Winham's wishes to have no contact with them. Her sister Nicky told the court: 'We knew that contact with us exacerbated her mental health difficulties.'
Despite this, the family often passed by to check Ms Winham's car was still outside her flat.
The statement on behalf of the family continued: 'The circumstances of Laura's death have been absolutely devastating for her loved ones.
'They are a caring and loving family who I have come to know well over the past few years.
'Laura was a much-loved, much-missed daughter and sister. Her family did everything in their power to support her as she battled her mental health struggles until it became apparent that she may harm herself unless they backed away.
'They believed Laura would be in the best possible hands when handing her into the care of professionals – people with much more knowledge and understanding of supporting those with serious mental health issues.
'Sadly in this instance that was not the case.'
It added: 'The safeguarding review made it clear that Laura was never failed by her family.
'They sought professional help but input was lost from people who truly loved her.
'Laura and her family need a system that cared enough about vulnerable person.
'Laura's death must act as a catalyst for change.'
Claire Edgar, executive director of adults, wellbeing and health partnerships at Surrey County Council, apologised for Laura not getting 'the support she needed'.
In a statement, she said: 'This is a terribly sad case and my thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Laura's family for their loss and the distress they have suffered.
'I am sorry Laura did not get the support she needed and I know that the service has worked hard to act on learning from this case. Since joining the council last year, my focus has been on making sure that the significant improvements the service has made in recent years are maintained and built upon.
'We will carefully consider the coroner's findings so that everything possible is done to make sure that our practice is as good as it can be.
'We will also continue to work with our partners to ensure all wider learning is acted on.'
Dr Henderson also ruled that, had Woking Borough Council and New Vision Homes – WBC'S landlord contractor from 2015 to April 2022 – flagged Ms Winham as vulnerable then it would have been evident she required further assistance.
The coroner also said the DWP should have been 'more proactive' after Ms Winham's Disability Living Allowance benefit was stopped due to her choosing not to apply for a Personal Independence Payment.
The court heard she chose not apply because 'she could not cope with the invasive medical check-up'.
But Dr Henderson reiterated that it was impossible to conclude these 'lost opportunities materially contributed' to Ms Winham's death.
Surrey County Council has been contacted for comment.