Mum-Of-Three Died While Under The Care Of John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford

The family of a woman who was hit by a train while she was supposed to be under section at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, hopes for answers at an inquest into her death this week.

Mum-of-three Deborah Yalcin, from Downe in Kent, died when she was hit by a freight train at Didcot Parkway Station shortly after 11am on December 3, last year.

The 51-year-old natural health therapist was awaiting psychiatric assessment after her family became concerned because she claimed she could hear voices in her head. She had been admitted to the John Radcliffe Hospital under Section 2 of the Mental Health Act because there were no available beds at the Trust’s local psychiatric facilities. 

Following Deborah’s death, her devastated husband, Ahmet, instructed expert medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate her care under Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Irwin Mitchell is representing Ahmet and his children at the inquest which is due to begin at Oxford Coroner’s Court, at County Hall, Oxford at 10am on Monday.

Ahmet said: “Deborah was a highly intelligent and caring woman who dedicated her life to helping others. I feel she was let down by those who were supposed to help her in the most desperate moments of her life.

“My children and I now just want to know what went wrong on that night, whether anything could have been done to prevent her death and – now most importantly – what can be done to prevent this happening to other vulnerable people in the future.”

At the time of her death Deborah had been unable to eat or sleep properly for some months, but had no history of mental illness.

Alisha Puri, an expert medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, representing Ahmet said: “This has been an incredibly difficult time for Deborah’s family who have many unanswered questions regarding the care she received in the hours before her tragic death.

“It is our hope that the inquest into her death will be able to provide them with the answers they long for and identify any lessons which can be learned by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust to prevent similar tragedies.“

Read more about Irwin Mitchell's work on medical negligence cases here.