A 16-year-old girl who took her own life a day before her first detention suffered from both depression and anxiety, an inquest has revealed.

Caitlyn Scott-Lee, who was a boarding school student at Wycombe Abbey, was found unresponsive on April 21, 2023.

During the inquest at Beaconsfield Coroner’s Court, the court heard the teenager was diagnosed with autism in March 2022 but had been suffering from depression three years before her tragic death.

She had also been dealing with severe anxiety for about 18 months before her passing.

At a hearing on Monday, April 29, it was heard that Caitlyn received the detention after alcohol was found in her possession on March 19.

Two days after the alcohol was found, she was due to play at a concert at Eton.

However, the teen went missing and was found more than two miles away at her mother’s home in Windsor.

On the second day of the hearing on Tuesday, April 30, Dr Jude-Joseph Gubral said he had spoken to Ms Scott-Lee in an appointment that took place on March 29, 2023 – just three weeks before she died.

During the 20-minute meeting, the teenager revealed she felt ‘on edge all the time’ for ‘no reason’. 

She also admitted that she tried speaking to a counsellor at Wycombe Abbey, but didn’t continue to use their services as she didn’t find it helpful.

Dr Gubral said: “I saw Caitlyn on March 29. She stated that she had thoughts of suicide and self-harm but never acted on it.

“I let the conversation flow as I didn’t want to interrupt her – I wanted to hear what she had to say.

“I have seen young patients who have been struggling with low moods before, so we spoke about suicidal thoughts and self-harming.

“I do remember it – we spoke for about 20 minutes.

“She came by herself, and I was aware that she was from the boarding school.

“One of her sisters and her mum came with her, but she went to the appointment alone.

“She didn’t speak about it at home [her mental state] and admitted her anxiety and depression over the last year had gotten worse.

“She said she had no thoughts [of suicide or self-harm] during the consultation but admitted that counselling at school wasn’t helping.

“She told me that she never carried out any suicidal acts.

“I had no concerns after the meeting – I asked her and she denied it, so I had no concerns of immediate self-harming.

“She needed help from the mental health team, which is why I offered to do a referral to CAMHAS (the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) on that day.

“If she had shown clear signs of suicidal thoughts, I would have called the crisis team, but there was nothing to suggest on the day that I saw her that she was suicidal.”

The case continues.

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