A DOCTOR said he was surprised a grandmother was found dead hours after he declined to section her even though she said she was planning to take her own life.

Sharon Kelly was discovered hanging at her home in Stanway in June last year.

An inquest into her death reopened yesterday in front of senior coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray and a jury at County Hall in Chelmsford.

The hearing was told the 44-year-old had a history of mental illness and had been diagnosed with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder.

She had navigated several mental health crises in the years before her death and had voluntarily spent time on mental health wards when she felt suicidal.

READ MORE: Inquest to open into death of woman, 44, found dead in her home

Last June, Miss Kelly told a community psychiatric nurse she was planning to take her own life the next day which was the anniversary of her late son’s birthday and declined to be taken to a unit voluntarily.

Psychiatrist Dr Ramanathan Elayaperumal - who had worked closely with Miss Kelly since 2016 in his role at the Home Treatment Team at the Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust - ordered a Mental Health Act assessment which could have seen her detained against her will.

The assessment could not be arranged until the next day when two other doctors and an approved mental health practitioner arrived at Miss Kelly’s home.

She was found asleep in bed and said she had taken double the recommended dose of her prescribed anxiety medication.

She was assessed despite initially appearing sleepy. She did not meet the criteria to be sectioned.

Giving evidence, Dr Mohamed Sathick, who was part of the assessment team, said: “She said she had been self harming but that she had stopped the previous day and had been doing it to release her emotions.”

The next day, Miss Kelly sent messages to family members indicating she was going to take her own life.

She was later found dead by police and paramedics.

When asked what he thought when he heard she had died Dr Sathick added: “I was surprised.

“That is not what I thought on that day.”

'Police could have attended faster'

A SENIOR police officer told the inquest officers should have been instructed to attend faster after being told Miss Kelly may have taken her own life.

Officers initially scrambled to the scene were not given permission to go on blue lights as the incident was not deemed serious enough.

This meant it took them 18 minutes to get from their previous assignment in Berechurch, Colchester during busy rush hour traffic.

Insp Sue Richardson said: “I do think this incident was one which required a blue light response.

“In my opinion the suggested was she was going to take her own life and I think it required a blue light response.

“The officers allocated had to go at normal speed.”

Insp Richardson estimated the crew could have got to Stanway in six minutes on blue lights depending on traffic and other factors.

She said that she had no say on how the incident was graded initially and was back on it retrospectively.

Insp Richardson attended the scene herself after Miss Kelly was pronounced dead as is normal in similar incidents.

She said she was satisfied there were no suspicious circumstances around her death.

n The inquest continues.