'Compassionate' teenager Holly Egan took her own life after struggling with her mental health

17-year-old Holly Egan, of Seacrest Avenue, had been struggling with her mental health but had found it hard to open up about her problems.

She died after being hit by a train in Layton, Blackpool, on January 27 this year.

Assistant Coroner, Andrew Cousins, said the he evidence, which included a suicide note, was conclusive. He added that Holly’s case was especially ‘sad’ and ‘tragic’.

The court heard from several clinicians who had worked with Holly since she was first referred to CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health services) in March 2020, when she was 15.

Although she’d said that she had thoughts about suicide, ‘quiet’ Holly hadn’t found it easy to talk about them.

She was described as a ‘polite’ girl with a ‘beautiful soul’ and a love of nature and music.

But she’d struggled to adapt when she started at Blackpool Sixth Form, in September 2021.

The court heard how the former Cardinal Allen Catholic School pupil had shown a decline in her mental health during lockdown. It was suggested that school had provided several ‘useful distractions’ for Holly. The coroner read out the record from CASHER (Child & Adolescent Support & Help Enhanced Response), based at Blackpool Victoria Hospital. It said: “Lockdown has a significant impact on her mental health and that seems to be the time when suicidal ideations increased.”

The hearing also heard from Consultant Alji-Mohamed Samir, consultant psychiatrist with Children and Adult Mental Health Services In Patient services at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust. He said: “She started feeling guilty because her friend had mental health issues and she felt responsible. When lockdown happened she could not see them, and couldn’t know if those guilty thoughts were justified or not.” He described Holly as ‘compassionate’ and that at one point during her treatment she did not want to go home as she might ‘burden her mum’.

Steve Beasley, a Pastoral Mentor at Blackpool Sixth Form college, was the last known person to have spoken with Holly, in a one to one meeting which led to her being reported missing. Mr Beasley said that when she had approached him in the corridor early that afternoon she seemed ‘calm’ and ready to ‘take on her mental health problems’. He described it as a ‘positive step’.

But later that afternoon, they had the meeting when Holly admitted that she was having suicidal thoughts. When she went to the bathroom at around 4:35pm, she’d left her belongings - a sign that suggested she was planning to come back. But she didn’t return, and the police were called at 5:50pm as they realised she was missing and ‘at risk’.

On the second day of the hearing, the court heard from Doctor Jo Gorry, Consultant Clinical Psychologist with the Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Trust. She read out a report about how they could improve their service for young people with mental health issues, following Holly’s death.

While not responsible, the report said there were ‘contributory factors’ that may have made Holly’s situation worse.

The report recommended that a young person’s school, GP, and parent/guardian should all be consulted before they are discharged from CAMHS.

It also suggested that a risk assessment plan for Holly had been put in the wrong place, which wasn’t clearly accessible to everyone who needed to see it.

Recommendations were made for this to be made clearer more effective, including training staff on how to use the ‘tool’ correctly so that various agencies can see if a person is at high risk.

The coroner concluded: “"This is an extremely sad case, even more so as Holly was only 17. Suicides are always tragic, especially when someone with so much life ahead of them."

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