Mum of Barnsley teen who took own life petitions Government for stronger mental health responses
She hopes the legislation would be known as ‘Ollie’s Law’
The heart-broken mum of a teen who took their own life is calling on better mental health response for young people after an inquest found her child had been failed by local services.
Ollie Lee took her own life at home on October 6, 2024, aged just 14, following several previous attempts and self-harm incidents.
An inquest into her death held in May this year found that the teenager had endured years of bullying prior to her death, and despite some mental health support from CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) not enough was done to prevent her death.
Coroner Hannah Berry highlighted concerns about a “lack of communication” between council support agency Early Help and CAMHS and claimed that she was preparing a prevention of future deaths report for both agencies.
Mum Courtney, who described Ollie as “bringing light, humour, chaos and beauty” into every room, has now (June 29) launched a petition to call on greater responses for children’s mental health services.
The petition would enforce schools, local councils, CAMHS and safeguarding services to monitor and share information when a child is at risk due to severe bullying.
Support Ollie’s Law here
She hopes for this to be called ‘Ollie’s Law’.
If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, the Government will respond to it, while if it reaches 100,000 signatures it will be considered for debate in Parliament.
On the petition, Courtney wrote: “We believe self-harm, suicide risk, school refusal, SEND vulnerabilities and mental health decline linked to bullying are all a safeguarding emergency which should require a response from support services within 72 hours.
“Children in this situation should be given a same-day risk assessment and safety plans, and be provided with support from a named continuity lead.
“We therefore want the Government to require monitoring and sharing of information when a child is at risk due to bullying, and for timely support to be provided.”