An investigation into the suicide death of an 18-year-old girl from Newcastle in New South Wales has found the local mental health service failed to provide her with safe and adequate care. Ahlia Raftery was able to take her own life at the Mater Mental Health Centre in 2015 — despite repeatedly preparing to do so, telling staff about her plans, and attempting suicide in the same way just days earlier in another ward. The report found Ms Raftery should have been observed at least every 15 minutes, but nurses were making observations at a distance, from a nurse’s station. It said “no staff member approached or engaged with Ahlia” for at least 40 minutes before the alarm was raised, adding the lack of supervision was “difficult to understand”. Three months ago, the Mater Mental Health Service apologised to the Raftery family, saying it had already made changes to the wards, to make the bedding and the furniture safer.
