Lauren Bridges' mum pays heartbreaking tribute as she says her daughter was 'horribly failed' by mental health system

The mother of Lauren Bridges says her daughter was 'horribly failed' and has called for lessons to be learned after an inquest jury said there were 'missed opportunities' to move her closer to home.

Lauren, 20, a young woman with autism, died whilst a patient at the Priory's Cheadle Royal Hospital near Stockport, a six-hour drive from where her family live in Bournemouth, Dorset.

In February last year, she was found unconscious in her en-suite bathroom on the psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) at the hospital where she had been detained for seven months. She was rushed to Wythenshawe hospital but died two days later.

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After an inquest lasting four weeks, a jury today ruled she didn't intend to take her own life and recorded a conclusion of misadventure.

They said her desire to be closer to home was a 'consistent theme' during her treatment at the facility and incidents of self-harm were a 'cry for help due to a lack of family contact.'

They also said there were 'missed opportunities' to find Lauren Bridges a bed closer to home. The foreperson said there were beds available in Bournemouth for 'more than half of the days' of Lauren's admission, but that she was 'not actively considered' for them.

Dorset HealthCare, the NHS trust that commissioned Lauren's stay at the Priory Cheadle, has admitted that there were 'shortcomings' in their systems in place to bring residents being treated out of area back closer to home

The jury's findings bring to an end Lauren's family's long wait for answers after a previous inquest, which began in February, had to be abandoned after three days due to issues over court time.

In a statement issued