Family of Norfolk grandmother who died after being sent miles away for a mental health bed say she was sent too far
Watch Raveena Ghattaura's full report here
The family of a 'loving and affectionate' grandmother from Norfolk who died after being sent hundreds of a miles away for a mental health bed say she was sent too far.
81 year old Peggy Copeman died on the side of the M11 while being transported from one mental health hospital in Somerset to another in Norfolk.
Today, 21st June, her family arrived at Norwich Coroners Court for the start of her inquest.
Mrs Copeman had a history of schizophrenia and moved into a care home near Norwich in 2014.
In December 2019, she was sent more than 200 miles away to a psychiatric hospital in Somerset for mental health treatment because there were no suitable beds at the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust.
She had never left her home county of Norfolk before this.
Four days later, when a bed had been found, Mrs Copeman was driven back in a private ambulance.
On the way to Norfolk she started to have breathing difficulties and died on the hard shoulder of the M11.
In a statement read out in court, Mrs Copeman's daughter Maxine Fulcher said the family were reluctant to send her so far because she wasn't well enough, but felt they were given no choice.
Maxine said the she received in a call the afternoon of her mother's move to tell her the ambulance had pulled over, but that they were unable to say why. She then described chasing people for information and later being told that her mother had died.
She's described her mother as "a gentle, loving and caring person. She meant the world to me, and I am absolutely heartbroken that she's been taken away."
Matthew Rushmere, community mental health nurse for the Norfolk Suffolk Foundation Trust said Mrs Copeman's needs were "unmanageable at the care home".
He said she was placed under recommendation for section two of the Mental Health Act.
Section two of the Act allows for someone to be detained in hospital for an assessment and mental health treatment.
The court also heard from Dr Ashish Pandey, a consultant psychiatrist at the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust:
The inquest is expected to last five days.