'OUR DAUGHTER HAD WHOLE LIFE AHEAD OF HER – THEN ONE DAY SHE WAS GONE'

Parents of student nurse say she was 'ignored' by mental health services

- LUCY JOHN Reporter

PICTURES of Bronwen Morgan clearly show the caring and loving person she was during her life. The 26-year-old decided to use her time to help others by working with autistic children while training to be a mental health nurse.

The eldest of three sisters, her family said she was their “go-to” person to solve any problems and was a “super caring” person who “always went for the underdog”.

She was also an animal lover, a talented swimmer and an amateur boxer who took part in matches to raise money for charity. But sadly in August 2020 Bronwen, who had so much to live for, took her own life.

It came just days after she wrote a letter to Cardiff and Vale University Health Board describing how her desperate cries for help were being ignored.

An extract from the letter reads: “I feel like my voice has not been listened to and services are ignoring my family’s cries for help. We are desperate. I don’t know how much clearer we can make it, how much louder we can shout it, how many more breakdowns and tears it will take. It's going to be too late.”

Now, nearly five years on, Bronwen’s family are using her name to continue helping others. They are adamant that Bronwen would still be alive today if mental health professionals handled her care differently.

They are campaigning for a change in the law that they hope will one day save lives and prevent other families going through the unthinkable ordeal they have experienced.

Her parents, Haydn and Jayne, said Bronwen’s mental health began to deteriorate in 2018 while she was a teaching assistant in a specialist unit for children with challenging behaviour. She developed an eating disorder and suffered bouts of depression and anxiety.

They claim Bronwen later disclosed to them that she had allegedly been raped some years earlier, which they believe triggered her symptoms.