![\"Ella](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/EGR9YW48TSPU17U8J84N.jpg\")
Ella Murray, from Sheerness, died on November 15, 2023. Picture: Natalie James<\/p>\nElla Louise Murray should have been celebrating her 16th birthday this year, sitting her GCSEs in the summer and starting to plan out her future with her friends and family.<\/p>\n
But instead, they can only imagine the life she could have had if she had received the mental health support she was desperately crying out for, her mum Natalie James told senior reporter Alex Langridge.<\/p>\n
Ella Murray, from Sheerness, died on November 15, 2023. Picture: Natalie James<\/p>\n
Ella died on November 15, 2023, at King\u2019s College Hospital in London from suicide, after struggling with her mental health.<\/p>\n
A four-day inquest was held into her death<\/a> in December 2024, where area coroner Catherine Wood heard the 13-year-old was admitted to A&E two days before she died after telling her teachers \u201cshe wanted to kill herself\u201d.<\/p>\n The Year 9 student at Highsted Grammar School in Sittingbourne<\/a> was first seen by a paediatric nurse at Medway Maritime Hospital, who she told that she would end her life if she went home.<\/p>\n Ella was referred to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and then seen by a mental health nurse who deemed her a \u201cmedium risk\u201d.<\/p>\n She was discharged with an agreed home treatment plan, and seen by another mental health nurse the following day at her home in Alexandra Road, Sheerness<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to the assessment notes, the rugby player for Aylesford <\/a>RFC told the practitioner she would \u201churt herself or others\u201d if she stayed at home, was feeling suicidal and wanted to go to the hospital.<\/p>\n It was deemed that she did not meet the criteria to be admitted.<\/p>\n After the nurse left, Ella attempted to end her life and was airlifted to King\u2019s College Hospital, where she died the following day (November 15).<\/p>\n In her findings, Ms Wood said she found it \u201cincredible\u201d that a 13-year-old could tell a nurse she was going to harm herself and then a risk assessment was not completed.<\/p>\n She added: \u201cI simply cannot accept it is reasonable to leave her at home even with a plan to see her the following day. There was a clear failure here to keep Ella safe.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was a child crying out for help, and I find she should have been risk-assessed. Had she been, she would have been high risk.\u201d<\/p>\n She declared that Ella should have been taken to a mental health ward and admitted to the hospital, or an urgent discussion should have been held with partner organisations to ensure Ella was in a safe place.<\/p>\n Speaking to KentOnline two years after the inquest\u2019s conclusion, her mum, Natalie, still cannot understand how Ella was seen by three different professionals but wasn\u2019t admitted to the hospital.<\/p>\n She added: \u201cLosing a child is something I will never get over. There are so many questions I will never have the answer to, so many \u2018what ifs\u2019, and I cannot ask Ella.<\/p>\n \u201cI look back and think she could still be here. If she felt like someone was helping her, maybe she would not have given up hope.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the hardest things I hear is \u2018she would have done it anyway\u2019. We do not know that.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we do know is that if she were risk-assessed, she would have been rated as high risk, and she might not have done it then.\u201d<\/p>\n Ella\u2019s friend, Daisy Sunley, has now launched a government petition calling for mandatory suicide risk assessments when a child in hospital care expresses intent to harm themselves. You can view it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Natalie, who now lives in Sittingbourne, said: \u201cIf they have gone to the hospital, they should not be leaving without having an assessment, and they should not have to jump through so many hoops and red tape for it.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone expressing a desire to harm themselves at a young age should be taken more seriously.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have had these reviews, plans and still nothing has changed. If someone comes in and is dismissed, then it does not matter.<\/p>\n \u201cHow many more Ellas does there need to be?\u201d<\/p>\n Daisy, who not only lost Ella, but also their other friend, Eivie, to suicide, added: \u201cLosing one friend so young was heartbreaking, but losing two was something I struggled to understand at that age, especially to suicide.<\/p>\n \u201cAs I have gotten older and learned more about Ella\u2019s case, I began researching what a suicide risk assessment was and why it mattered.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, as an almost 18-year-old, I cannot understand how something that could determine whether a vulnerable young person receives life-saving support can still be treated as optional.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat affected me most was learning the details of Ella\u2019s case. She had told professionals she wanted to end her life, she was hearing voices, and she was clearly crying out for help, yet a suicide risk assessment was not completed.<\/p>\n \u201cI do not want any other child, friend, or family to go through what so many people around Ella and Eivie had to go through.<\/p>\n \u201cIf mandatory suicide risk assessments can save even one life, then that change is worth fighting for.<\/p>\n \u201cNo child asking for help should be turned away without proper assessment and support, and no family should ever be left wondering whether more could have been done.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, this petition is about turning something so negative into positive and making sure Ella and Eivie\u2019s names stand for something that could protect others in the future. I hope I am doing them proud.\u201d<\/p>\n Natalie, who has completed several training courses in mental health and suicide awareness, understands that sometimes not every person who says they intend to harm themselves will do so.<\/p>\n But she explained that it should still be taken seriously: \u201cIt is not worth the risk. They are big words for a small person, and are warning signs that should not be ignored.<\/p>\n \u201cA 13-year-old should not know how to end their life, and it should not be a consideration.<\/p>\n \u201cI know it will require resources, and the NHS is already under a lot of pressure, but at the cost of young people\u2019s lives, it is just not acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Ella](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/VH4WC8G0ZZUHRI0L3EB1.jpg\")
Ella was seen by three medical professionals in the days before her death. Picture: Natalie James<\/p>\n![\"Ella](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/JE65EWZLK4ZIO4I5BXNY.jpg\")
Ella with her mum, Natalie, when she was younger. Picture: Natalie James<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/4BZV1PF2D018YHLSTDGM.jpg\")
An inquest has found that there had been failings in Ella’s care. Picture: Natalie James<\/p>\n![\"Ella](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/QA5QDLFKRDEHIRSBMD8V.jpg\")
Ella with her mum, Natalie, who is calling for a change in the system. Picture: Natalie James<\/p>\n![\"Ella](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/QRQIPII1S5UPYNGFDUVS.jpg\")
Ella was said to be “crying out for help”. Picture: Natalie James<\/p>\n![\"Mum](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/8WFVS42V2D3LMO70TYJ7.jpg\")
Mum Natalie believes more needs to be done for other children. Picture: Natalie James<\/p>\n![\"Ella](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/4B9YHPMCROHMFA2WEN1P.jpg\")
Ella with her mum, Natalie, and step-dad, Oliver. Picture: Natalie James<\/p>\n
![\"Ella](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ME3G92N39IG0F9VSKJIQ.jpg\")
Ella should have been celebrating her 16th birthday this year. Ella is pictured with her mum, Natalie, when she was younger. Picture: Natalie James<\/p>\n