A MENTALLY-ILL woman died on the A12 just hours after being turned away from a health centre because there were no consultants available to assess her.

A coroner has accused the health trust involved of a “gross failure” in providing care for the woman.

Karen Crews, 50, from Alexandra Road, Rayleigh, died from multiple injuries when she was hit by a lorry on the A12 near Capel St Mary, on the Suffolk-Essex border, last May.

An inquest in Ipswich heard that Mrs Crews, a mum-of-three, had experienced declining mental health during the year before she died.

She had attempted two suicides and spent nearly two months as an inpatient at Runwell Hospital, near Wickford.

The inquest heard that the day before she died she appeared “delusional” and had given her son a knife, asking him to “finish her off”.

Her husband, Steve, told the inquest that, later that day, he went to the Coombewood Mental Health Resource Centre in Websters Way, Rayleigh, seeking help.

He said he was told by the duty officer, an experienced mental health nurse provided by an agency, that there were no consultants available for 48 hours.

An emergency appointment was made for Wednesday, May 14, but the following day, Tuesday, May 13, Mrs Crews left her home and drove up the A12 into Suffolk, parking her car in a lay-by.

At about 9.45pm, she was hit by the lorry while her body was in an “almost horizontal” position, but the coroner ruled that he could not be sure that she had intended to kill herself.

Dr Peter Dean, coroner for Suffolk and Essex, said he was satisfied in his mind that there was a “gross failure” by South Essex Partnership NHS Trust to provide appropriate care.

But he told the family at the hearing that the evidence available to him limited his ability to record anything other than an open verdict.

He added: “Things have come out of this inquiry to minimise the risk in the future.

“There were concerns about the initial contact and concerns about the information given to the family.

“There were clearly communication and triage issues and clearly concerns about the accuracy of the notes that were kept.”

After the verdict, Mrs Crews’ brother, Gary Nicholls, said he hoped lessons could be learnt.