Mark Whitehead 27 January 2023

Woman with schizophrenia lay dead in council flat for four years

Woman with schizophrenia lay dead in council flat for four years  image
Image: DrimaFilm/Shutterstock.com.

Surrey County Council has committed to taking a full part in the inquest into a woman with schizophrenia who was found dead in her flat after four years.

A spokesperson said it was important to ‘review every aspect of the complex case’.

Speaking before a pre-inquest hearing set for Monday, the family of Laura Winham alleged she was ‘abandoned and left to die’ by NHS and social services.

The hearing will establish the scope of the inquest, which the family says should examine whether various care and welfare services acted appropriately and how she became ‘lost in the system’.

The woman, who was 38, was found in a ‘mummified, almost skeletal state’ at her social housing flat in Woking, Surrey by police and relatives in May 2021.

A Surrey County Council spokesperson said: ‘It's important that every aspect of this complex case is reviewed and we're committed to participating fully in the inquest process.’

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