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Woman found decomposing at home after mental health services failed to check in on her

A37-year-old woman from east London was found decomposing after mental health services failed to check in on her for weeks, an inquest has found.

Sophia Yurferev was found by police in her home in Hornchurch on 16 November 2021, more than a month after she had died.

The inquest into her death found that the mental health trust charged with her care, North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT), had not made any welfare checks during that time.

However, the coroner stated that it was not possible to say whether an earlier follow-up or attendance at her home by healthcare workers would have prevented her death.

According to a summary of the inquest, released by her family’s lawyers, Hodge, Jones & Allen, the trust did not check on Yurferev for a month, despite her having failed to attend an appointment to receive antipsychotic treatment on 12 October.

Her family’s lawyers said: “Efforts were made to contact Sophia between November 8-15; however, they were unsuccessful. The inquest heard that no concerns were raised by NELFT between 12 October

2021 and the time of Sophia’s death, due to ‘Covid-related staff shortages’ at the trust.”

Yurferev moved to the UK from Siberia in 1998 with her mother, Maria Stockdale, and two siblings. When she was 19, her mental health deteriorated and in 2010 she was admitted to hospital in Newham under the Mental Health Act. 

Reference: The Independent: Rebecca Thomas