A ‘beautiful and caring’ young mum tragically took her own life in June last year after the deaths of her friend and and mother, an inquest heard.
The family of Jade Wilcott, 24, from Southway, Plymouth, told Plymouth Coroner’s Court she was an ‘extremely bright and lovable’ woman.
Afterwards, they said it was clear mental health treatment ‘needs to be there for people’, adding that despite seeking asking for help on several occasions, Jade was ‘failed’.
They said that to take her own life and leave her daughter behind shows how defeated she must have felt.
Jade’s family said in a statement: ‘Jade Elizabeth Wilcott was a beautiful, caring and thoughtful woman and mother. She was deeply loved by everyone who knew her.
Jade Wilcott, 24, from Southway, Plymouth, struggled with mental health issues throughout her life, an inquest was told
‘She struggled tremendously with her mental health from a young age and despite many times asking for help, she was failed.
‘To take her own life all must understand how defeated she must have felt, leaving behind her most precious possession in life, her daughter Neveah. She will forever be missed.’
Adam Wilcott, Jade’s father, said she had been asking for help and should have received it that same day after she entered Derriford Hospital.
Mr Wilcott said: ‘She messaged me that night and was asking me, saying that she needed help.
‘We ended up paying for private counselling because of the wait. Our message is that mental health treatment needs to be there for people.
‘The other thing that was affecting her was the Covid lockdown. Her grandparents had to shield and her friend. She felt very, very, very isolated. And then the sudden death of her friend – all these things drove her to it.’
An inquest at Plymouth Coroner’s Court heard Jade had a ‘history of depression’ and recently suffered bereavement
Senior coroner Ian Arrow noted evidence gathered from a number of witnesses, including Miss Wilcott’s GP, Dr Shabnum Awan of the Budshead Medical Practice.
In his report he highlighted how Miss Wilcott had a ‘history of depression’ and that her last attendance at the surgery on January 19 last year saw her state she was ‘feeling anxious all the time’.
She was prescribed medication to tackle her depression and help her sleep. A report from Livewell Southwest noted it received a referral to their liaison psychiatry team on May 14, shortly before Miss Wilcott’s death.
A mental health nurse noted Miss Wilcott had admitted to taking a quantity of pills having recently suffered a bereavement, but a risk assessment considered her to be a ‘low risk of self-harm’ and said she did not wish to end her life.
She told medical staff at the time she had ‘acted on impulse’.
A statement was read out from Robert Wilcott, Jade’s grandfather, who noted that she and her sister regularly used to visit and stay over at their home. On May 30 last year, she stayed over after a night out with friends for a birthday party.
Upon returning, Miss Wilcott joined Robert in the summer house. He said she was clearly feeling ‘down and despondent’ and at one point said ‘she had had enough’.
The pair continued to talk about how she was feeling and Miss Wilcott eventually appeared to ‘calm down’.
The inquest heard how Miss Wilcott told Robert she was going for a cigarette before he fell asleep.
Robert’s wife found Miss Wilcott unresponsive the following morning and Robert made attempts to revive her. Paramedics and police were also called but Miss Wilcott sadly passed away during the night.
Robert said Miss Wilcott’s death was ‘a terrible loss to her family’, adding that she was ‘a fantastic girl and an amazing mother to her daughter’. He said the young mum was ‘very intelligent and hard working’.
Civilian investigator Phil Trevains told the inquest he carried out an inquiry in the circumstances of Miss Wilcott’s death, noting it was clear she had been upset following the death of her mother a few years previously, combined with the death of a close friend just a few weeks before her own passing.
He said medical reports showed she had struggled with her mental health. He noted there had been suggestions the counselling offered to Miss Wilcott had come ‘a little too late’ and he highlighted the difficulties of getting access to such counselling during the Covid lockdown period.
Mr Trevains said her family had described her as ‘an extremely bright and loving girl, a great mum to her daughter’ and that the loss was ‘a great tragedy to the whole family’. Her untimely death had ‘left friends and family devastated’.
Summarising the evidence presented to him, Mr Arrow recorded a conclusion of suicide.
He expressed his profound condolences to the family, many of whom had attended the inquest in person.
Mr Arrow said: ‘She was clearly a young lady who had a lot to offer friends, family and society.’