\n<\/p>\n
The family of a nurse whose body was found in a river after a three-week search have said she was failed by \u201csystemic neglect and under-resourcing in mental health services\u201d.<\/p>\n
Victoria Taylor, 34, was described at an inquest as a \u201cdevoted mother, a loving fiancee and a fiercely loyal sister\u201d.<\/p>\n
She went missing from her home in Malton, North Yorkshire, on 30 September last year. Her body was recovered from the River Derwent on 22 October after an extensive search.<\/p>\n
The inquest into her death in Northallerton heard that Taylor struggled with alcohol and mental health problems related to a childhood trauma.<\/p>\n
Coroner Catherine Cundy said the trauma left \u201can indelible mark\u201d on Taylor\u2019s life \u201cin the form of depression, anxiety and chronic feelings of worthlessness\u201d. Recording a narrative verdict, Cundy said she could not be sure of Taylor\u2019s intentions when she went into the river.<\/p>\n
In a statement issued afterwards, Taylor\u2019s sister, Emma Worden, said she hoped the inquest would be a turning point. She said: \u201cVixx was a devoted mother, a loving fiancee and a fiercely loyal sister. She showed up for those she loved with warmth, humour and a deep sense of care.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer relationships were central to her identity, and she gave everything she had to protect and support the people around her. She also lived with challenges, these were not hidden.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe reached out for help. She made herself visible to services. And yet, time and again, she was failed and left without the support she needed. The failures in her care were not isolated incidents. They were part of a wider pattern of systemic neglect and under-resourcing in mental health services.<\/p>\n
\u201cVixx deserved better. She deserved to be seen, heard and supported. Instead, she was left to carry burdens alone. Her death is a tragedy, but it must also be a turning point. Let this inquest be a step toward accountability, learning and change.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the daylong inquest Worden turned to representatives of Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS foundation trust (TEWV) saying they were going \u201cround in circles\u201d. She said: \u201cNobody looked her in the eye and said \u2018we will help you\u2019, and she\u2019s not here now because you failed her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The coroner said she would be writing to TEWV and a number of other agencies with her concerns over the support Taylor was given.<\/p>\n
She said she found it \u201cdifficult to understand\u201d why community mental health services repeatedly declined to offer Taylor support as her situation deteriorated during 2024.<\/p>\n
Cundy said she believed this was partly because Taylor was treated as an alcoholic when she was not dependent on alcohol, instead being someone who binged on wine when her emotions relating to her traumatic past overwhelmed her.<\/p>\n
Elspeth Devanney, the group director for nursing and quality at TEWV, said: \u201cOur thoughts and deepest condolences are with Victoria\u2019s family and friends during this incredibly difficult time.<\/p>\n
\u201cFollowing Victoria\u2019s tragic death, we completed a review and have made changes to improve our services. We will respond to the coroner\u2019s report and take action to continue to improve and provide high-quality care to the people in our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The family of a nurse whose body was found in a river after a three-week search have said she was failed by \u201csystemic neglect and under-resourcing in mental health services\u201d. Victoria Taylor, 34, was described at an inquest as a \u201cdevoted mother, a loving fiancee and a fiercely loyal sister\u201d. She went missing from her<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[1596,4051,2906,11561,2314,3219,11560,3247],"class_list":{"0":"post-18910","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-dead","9":"tag-failed","10":"tag-family","11":"tag-neglect","12":"tag-nurse","13":"tag-river","14":"tag-systemic","15":"tag-yorkshire"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}