Independent probe into care of abandoned Canning Town woman

The quality of social and health care surrounding the tragic death of Lillian John Baptiste, a mentally ill woman who was left abandoned, isolated and alone in the last stage of her life is to be independently investigated.

Mrs John-Baptiste lay dead in her Canning Town flat for more than two years until her decomposed body was discovered by police, lying among “piles of rubbish.”

In August, a formal inquest heard of a catalogue of errors. Coroner Graeme Irvine sharply criticised the police and highlighted the “shocking” failures of two agencies responsible for her care – Newham Social Services and the East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT).

Mrs John-Baptiste was 73 when she died in late 2019. She was last seen in Newham in September of that year and was eventually reported by concerned friends and family to be missing in July 2021.

Although it is impossible to establish a causal link between her death and her treatment by the health and social services, an independent investigation or Safeguarding Adults Review, will be carried out to examine the case in detail.

At her inquest, the coroner voiced concern that unless services improved, other people could suffer the same fate. He said Newham Council and the ELFT had failed to take her “harrowing” death seriously enough.

The police, who visited the flat three times before discovering her body, came in for particular criticism. “The Metropolitan Police Service have not covered themselves in glory,” said Mr Irvine.

In July last year during the Covid-19 emergency Newham Council could not reach Mrs John-Baptiste and called the police who entered the flat but found nothing. A second visit took place in August, but was abandoned because officers “felt unsafe” in the chaotic flat.

Her body, mummified by decomposition, was finally found in a third police search at Westland House, Rymill Street in February this year.

The inquest was told she had likely died more than two years earlier and because of the decomposition of the body a post-mortem examination was unable to pinpoint the exact cause of death.

“This is probably the most advanced case of decomposition that has been submitted to me,” said pathologist Alan Bates. The coroner recorded an open verdict.

Mrs John-Baptiste was born in St Lucia and moved to the UK as a teenager. The inquest was told she had worked as a nurse at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Stratford.

A 40-year battle with mental illness, beginning in the 1970s, saw her diagnosed with schizophrenia and admitted to hospital. Her three children were taken into care.

In a statement her estranged daughter Amanda Alexander said: “She took it very hard when we were taken away from her. From recollection, there was never any effort to reconcile us with our mother. I do not believe she ever fully recovered from us being taken away.”

The police admitted their actions “fell far below the standards we and the public should expect” and the inquest was told that police training had been updated.

The ELFT have accepted more could have been done to follow up Ms John-Baptiste’s failure to attend her last out-patient appointment. Although the ELFT tried to contact her on four occasions there was no response, but they didn’t send someone to check on her. This is something ELFT has accepted as a failing.

The death and inquest have led to a joint review of the case by both Newham Council and ELFT which has been submitted to the coroner. Among the recommendations ELFT has decided that, as a minimum, any future death will lead to a 48-hour report. Changes are also planned in the way patients are discharged or moved from more controlling care to out-patient treatment.

Nevertheless, given the multi-agency responsibilities, it is not clear whether action by ELFT alone may be enough to prevent similar incidents in future. ELFT is confident the Safeguarding Adult Review will give more assurance to the community.

Meanwhile, Newham Council, which had been responsible for Mrs John-Baptiste’s social care, had also stopped checking on her.

She was visited by a carer but in 2018, when she said she no longer wanted help, she was deemed to have the capacity to make that decision and she lost touch with the council. Her health providers also deemed her able to make decisions safely and moved her to out-patient treatment.

Social services did not try to contact her again until 2021, when checking on vulnerable residents during the pandemic.

This article was originally published on our October print edition and was amended on 15 October 2022.

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.