A FINE arts student who was told she would have to wait up to a year to access NHS mental health services for her psychosis, hanged herself at her parents’ Oxfordshire home soon after, a coroner has been told.

Nicole Kaye, a student at Sheffield Hallam University who worked in a flower shop, had been put on the waiting list to access "intensive therapy" before she killed herself in the morning on February 21 and she was later found by cleaners.

Dr Daniel Maughan, a consultant psychiatrist from the Warneford Hospital in Oxford, told the inquest: “I am very concerned about our lack of psychological provision and, unfortunately, we haven’t been successful in getting funds for more psychologists, so the waiting list remains a year.”

The 21-year-old Ms Kaye had been flagged up as a suicide risk after she had a manic episode in August last year and she was previously found by police when she went missing and was detained under the Mental Health Act, the inquest heard.

Oxford Mail:

Concerns were raised that Ms Kaye, who smoked cannabis, had misinterpreted research about the potential withdrawal symptoms of quitting smoking cannabis, Rebecca Walker, her care co-ordinator for the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, told the inquest.

It was thought Ms Kaye, who lived with her mother Caroline Kaye and her mother’s partner, at Meadow Road, Henley-on-Thames, may have started smoking cannabis again shortly before her death in the hope of becoming well.

Dr Maughan, who took to the witness stand during the inquest in Oxford, said it was “speculative” whether Ms Kaye receiving intensive therapy would have helped her in time, as it can take months for patients to improve.

However, he added: “It is very unfortunate that it was not able to be started straightaway. It took four months for the assessment to take place, but we were [working] with the resources that we have.”

Oxfordshire Coroner Darren Salter said: “If the trust could write to me on what the position is regarding that treatment, I think it might be helpful for families as well to have a note of what the position is going forward. It would be helpful and reassuring to understand if there is a prospect of funds becoming available.”

The inquest heard that Ms Kaye had been considered at low risk of suicide at her previous assessment.

Oxford Mail:

Caroline Kaye told the inquest that Nicole, who was her second daughter, was born in Belfast but went to school in Wokingham and was a very dedicated student.

Problems seemed to begin for Nicole, who was known to her family as Nikki, after she went to study biology at university in Sheffield and took an overdose in April 2016, although her mother said the family did not know why and she had to abandon her studies.

Nicole had returned to Sheffield to study Fine Art - her mother described her as a ‘talented artist’ - and she told the inquest that she had briefly improved while in a relationship with a man named Sebastian Elliot, who had a calming effect on Nikki.

On February 21 this year, Ms Kaye was found by Max Riley, who was working for his mother Samantha’s cleaning company, Dr House Services, at the Kaye family home in Henley-on-Thames. She was discovered hanged.

Nicole’s mother said at the end of the inquest: “I am not sure if I should say this...it is to do with balance of the medication she was on, so the response was there might have been a relapse if she is given too much of the antidepressant drugs. However, in light of this case, she may well have been alive if she got more of the antidepressants.”

Dr Maughan had told the coroner that Nicole was being treated with a delicate balance of antidepressants and antipsychotics with the risk that she would suffer a switch of mood from low to elevated.

Caroline Kaye added: "The other point is, she never actually got the chance to experience or get help from cognitive behavioural therapy, so it is all subjective as to how much it would have helped. She never got the chance.”

Oxford Mail:

Mr Salter heard from police witness statements that there was no sign of any third party interference in the hanging and Ms Kaye’s death was treated as not suspicious. The medical cause of death provided was "hanging."

Concluding the inquest, Mr Salter said: “The correct conclusion is suicide, on the basis that Nicole did the act, on the balance of probabilities at least.”

He said the Oxford Health NHS Trust had provided a reasonable level of care for Ms Kaye and there were reviews in place. However Mr Salter added: “There is an issue that the trust will write to me about, about the waiting list for intensive therapy.”

If you feel you need to talk, call Samaritans on 116 123.