A coroner plans to write to the government about mental health services for young people after ruling a girl’s death was contributed to by neglect.
14-year-old, Robyn Skilton, was found dead at a country park near her home in Horsham, in May last year.
Her death came a month after her discharge from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.
Coroner, Penelope Schofield, said mental health services “failed” Robyn.
Recording a narrative verdict, Ms Schofield said: “The mental health services failed Robyn as they did not recognise the deterioration of her mental health nor provide her with the care she required.
“Her death was contributed to by neglect.”
She continued: “There’s a clear risk other lives will be lost if we don’t address this.
“Schools are also finding this challenging. As a society we are failing these young people. There is a lack of resources to give them the help that they need.”
Ms Schofield said she planned to send a prevention of future deaths report to Health Secretary Sajid Javid because the failings in mental health services for young people, highlighted in Robyn’s case, were “a national problem” but pledged to defer the letter to give Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust time to show it had learned lessons.