Deaf woman, 25, who took her own life was ‘failed’ by mental health services

A deaf woman took her own life after ingesting chemicals she bought online despite telling a nurse she planned to kill herself.

Imogen Nunn, 25, had struggled with her mental health since she was 13.

She used her TikTok and other social media accounts to raise awareness of deafness and mental health, which gained more than 780,000 followers.

But she took her own life on New Year’s Day 2023 – and despite telling a nurse she had bought chemicals to use in suicide, proper safeguarding measures weren’t put in place.

Paying tribute, her mum Louise said: “Immy was our rainbow – she would make you feel so special whenever she was around and her heart was filled only with love.”

An inquest into Imogen’s death concluded there had been ‘a failure by the mental health services’ to manager her risk following an earlier suicide attempt in October 2022.

Senior coroner Penelope Schofield added there was a ‘failing to put in place safeguarding measures following being advised that Immy had accessed the pro-suicide website and disclosed that she had purchased chemicals to use in suicide, and failing to have a face-to-face appointment with Immy on December 30, 2022, to assess her risk’.

Imogen ordered a lethal chemical substance online on November 14, and it arrived on November 21.

She told her support worker at the deaf adult community team on November 23 and told them she had ‘bought something online that she planned to take to end her life’.

But the inquest at West Sussex coroner’s court in Horsham heard that while police were called and they visited Imogen’s home, no long-term changes were made to her care plan.

Three days before her death Imogen received a check-in visit at her home from care professionals, after sending a text saying she was increasingly having suicidal thoughts.

She had also sent a message to her therapist saying ‘I want to be admitted to hospital I can’t keep myself safe’.

But no BSL (British Sign Language) interpreter was taken to the meeting because there wasn’t enough time to arrange one – and Imogen’s inquest had to be postponed for two months because there weren’t any BSL interpreters available to translate for two deaf witnesses.

Ms Schofield said: ‘This is on a background of systemic, longstanding and well-documented challenges in the provision of mental health for deaf patients, with particular emphasis on the national shortage of BSL interpreters and the difficulty this presents for patients to be able to communicate their distress when their mental health is deteriorating or they are in crisis.’

The coroner also said there were ‘discrepancies’ in note keeping from Imogen’s care co-ordinator Ray McCullagh – but while these showed a failure in care, they didn’t undermine the therapeutic relationship, she said.

An expert from the National Register of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind People (NRCPD) told the inquest that failing to provide proper translation for deaf people could be a breach of human rights.

Ms Schofield agreed and found an ‘arguable breach’ of Article Two of the Human Rights Act, adding: ‘Immy’s death underscores these systemic challenges.’

Ms Schofield said she will write to the cabinet office, the Department for Education, Department for Work and Pensions and Department of Health and Social Care about these issues.

The coroner thanked Imogen’s family for the ‘dignity’ they showed throughout the inquest process, adding: ‘Hopefully some good will come out of this and people will listen and changes can be put into place.’

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