West Sussex County Council has apologised for failing to provide the right level of support to a teenage boy who has died after a suicide attempt.

Jade Hutchings, 18, died in Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton in 2020 after struggling with mental health issues. According to the inquest, Jade had been attempting to mask the underlying cause of these issues with alcohol and drugs.

The record of the inquest said that there were ‘missed opportunities’ by a number of services to engage with Jade to ensure that he was being encouraged to address his dependency on alcohol and drugs. The record highlighted in particular the council’s failure to carry out a child in need review.

The coroner concluded that Jade’s death was ‘contributed to by neglect.’

In response to the inquest’s findings, the council apologised and said they were ‘committed to learning from Jade’s case’.

A joint statement from West Sussex County Council’s director of Children, Young People and Learning Services Lucy Butler and director of Adults’ Services and Health Alan Sinclair said: ‘We would like to offer our sincere condolences to Jade’s family, friends and all affected by his death.

‘We acknowledge the findings of the inquest and the coroner’s conclusions, and we apologise for the level of service provided to Jade.’ The statement continued: ‘West Sussex County Council is focused on continuously improving outcomes for children, young adults and their families, putting their safety and wellbeing at the heart of everything we do.

‘We are committed to learning from Jade’s case and have already made, and will continue to make, changes to ensure young people in similar vulnerable situations receive the relevant level of support and services according to their needs.’