Post by RedMoon11 on Mar 21, 2014 0:18:30 GMT
Top Gear's James May Tells Inquest Of 'A Soul In Torment'
BBC presenter reveals his Twitter friendship with a troubled poetry-lover who discharged herself from hospital before drowning in a stream
Top Gear presenter James May told an inquest of his Twitter friendship with a troubled woman
By Padraic Flanagan
12:14PM GMT 19 Mar 2014
Top Gear presenter James May has told an inquest of his Twitter friendship with a troubled woman who drowned after a series of hospital failures.
The television celebrity described 44-year-old Tracey Jane Murray, whom he befriended on social media, as “a soul in some torment”.
The friends, who shared an interest in poetry, exchanged messages on Twitter but never met each other in person.
Miss Murray walked out of the Glan Clywd Hospital in Denbighshire in Wales, where she was being treated for an overdose in March last year. She was found two days later drowned in a stream, the inquest heard.
Mr May, who co-presents Top Gear with Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson, said in a statement that Miss Murray blamed the medical profession for her plight and referred to doctors as "Rippers".
The inquest at Wrexham, north Wales, was told that she suffered from agoraphobia and underwent a hysterectomy in 2009 following a misdiagnosis of ovarian cancer.
Mr May said he started to correspond with Miss Murray on Twitter after she joined a discussion about poetry. He described her as well-read and said she could be fun.
"She had more than 500 followers on Twitter, which is a lot for a private individual. After a while I got private messages from her," he said.
Mr May said sometimes Miss Murray would write in a rambling fashion and she said her life was falling apart.
"The normal response is to unfollow. But there was something about her, a soul in some torment," Mr May wrote in his statement.
Just a few days before her death Miss Murray wrote: "I am so utterly alone, apart from a couple of people who have tried to help me. I hate the world, it bleeds you dry."
Mr May added: “I never imagined for a moment she would resort to self-harm because she was a devout Christian.”
The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) admitted during the inquest that it had failed Miss Murray.
She was found dead in a stream at Bodelwyddan, Rhyl, Denbighshire, two days after leaving Glan Clwyd Hospital without being discharged on March 30 last year.
The divorced journalist, of Bolton, Greater Manchester, had been admitted to the hospital after taking an overdose in Llandudno and was being cared for on a surgical ward when she walked out.
Matthew Makin, executive medical director of BCUHB, said staff had intended to refer her to the psychiatric team but it had not happened.
"We fell short in meeting her psychological needs," Mr Makin said.
When the patient left the hospital, nurse Melanie Fowler had made an unsuccessful attempt to encourage her back to Glan Clwyd. She was praised for her efforts by North East Wales and Central coroner John Gittins.
Miss Murray's absence was reported to hospital authorities and a decision was taken not to pursue her as she had shown a capacity to understand her situation.
At one point Miss Murray's sister, Shirley Reynolds, of East Renfrewshire, accused the health board of negligence, but Mr Gittins said that was not a matter for the inquest to decide.
He also said there was no way of knowing what the outcome of a psychological assessment on divorcee Miss Murray would have been.
He expressed concern that nearly 12 months after the tragedy the health board had yet to implement fully changes to its operating policy.
Following Miss Murray's death a serious incident review had taken place, including mandatory staff training over referrals to the psychiatric team.
A post-mortem examination by Dr Andrew Dalton found Miss Murray had died by drowning.
Recording an open verdict, Mr Gittins said: "She was a young woman who came to a tragic end in circumstances where she felt partially abandoned."
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/10707979/Top-Gears-James-May-tells-inquest-of-a-soul-in-torment.html
BBC presenter reveals his Twitter friendship with a troubled poetry-lover who discharged herself from hospital before drowning in a stream
Top Gear presenter James May told an inquest of his Twitter friendship with a troubled woman
By Padraic Flanagan
12:14PM GMT 19 Mar 2014
Top Gear presenter James May has told an inquest of his Twitter friendship with a troubled woman who drowned after a series of hospital failures.
The television celebrity described 44-year-old Tracey Jane Murray, whom he befriended on social media, as “a soul in some torment”.
The friends, who shared an interest in poetry, exchanged messages on Twitter but never met each other in person.
Miss Murray walked out of the Glan Clywd Hospital in Denbighshire in Wales, where she was being treated for an overdose in March last year. She was found two days later drowned in a stream, the inquest heard.
Mr May, who co-presents Top Gear with Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson, said in a statement that Miss Murray blamed the medical profession for her plight and referred to doctors as "Rippers".
The inquest at Wrexham, north Wales, was told that she suffered from agoraphobia and underwent a hysterectomy in 2009 following a misdiagnosis of ovarian cancer.
Mr May said he started to correspond with Miss Murray on Twitter after she joined a discussion about poetry. He described her as well-read and said she could be fun.
"She had more than 500 followers on Twitter, which is a lot for a private individual. After a while I got private messages from her," he said.
Mr May said sometimes Miss Murray would write in a rambling fashion and she said her life was falling apart.
"The normal response is to unfollow. But there was something about her, a soul in some torment," Mr May wrote in his statement.
Just a few days before her death Miss Murray wrote: "I am so utterly alone, apart from a couple of people who have tried to help me. I hate the world, it bleeds you dry."
Mr May added: “I never imagined for a moment she would resort to self-harm because she was a devout Christian.”
The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) admitted during the inquest that it had failed Miss Murray.
She was found dead in a stream at Bodelwyddan, Rhyl, Denbighshire, two days after leaving Glan Clwyd Hospital without being discharged on March 30 last year.
The divorced journalist, of Bolton, Greater Manchester, had been admitted to the hospital after taking an overdose in Llandudno and was being cared for on a surgical ward when she walked out.
Matthew Makin, executive medical director of BCUHB, said staff had intended to refer her to the psychiatric team but it had not happened.
"We fell short in meeting her psychological needs," Mr Makin said.
When the patient left the hospital, nurse Melanie Fowler had made an unsuccessful attempt to encourage her back to Glan Clwyd. She was praised for her efforts by North East Wales and Central coroner John Gittins.
Miss Murray's absence was reported to hospital authorities and a decision was taken not to pursue her as she had shown a capacity to understand her situation.
At one point Miss Murray's sister, Shirley Reynolds, of East Renfrewshire, accused the health board of negligence, but Mr Gittins said that was not a matter for the inquest to decide.
He also said there was no way of knowing what the outcome of a psychological assessment on divorcee Miss Murray would have been.
He expressed concern that nearly 12 months after the tragedy the health board had yet to implement fully changes to its operating policy.
Following Miss Murray's death a serious incident review had taken place, including mandatory staff training over referrals to the psychiatric team.
A post-mortem examination by Dr Andrew Dalton found Miss Murray had died by drowning.
Recording an open verdict, Mr Gittins said: "She was a young woman who came to a tragic end in circumstances where she felt partially abandoned."
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/10707979/Top-Gears-James-May-tells-inquest-of-a-soul-in-torment.html
