HEALTH watchdogs have upheld a complaint lodged by the parents of a woman who killed herself two years after a previous attempt failed.

The Healthcare Commission says a GPs’ surgery has failed to adequately address two of the issues raised by the parents of Lara Edgell in the wake of her death.

Lara, also known as Larissa, suffered from recurrent depression.

She made an unsuccessful attempt to take her own life at the family home in Fathersfield, Brockenhurst, in 2004.

Two years later the 34-year-old local government employee was living near Bognor Regis when she hanged herself.

Her parents, Kay and David Edgell, say they were powerless to prevent her death because they were not told about her worsening mental condition.

The couple claim she was “killed by confidentiality” and have spent the past three years fighting for changes to the system.

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In 2007 they approached the Healthcare Commission and complained about various parts of the NHS in Hampshire and West Sussex, including the Brockenhurst Surgery, where Lara was a patient.

They claimed that no appropriate action was taken after her first suicide attempt.

In a 14-page letter outlining the results of its investigation, the commission says the surgery gave a “contradictory and confusing”

reply to the accusation.

It also says the practice failed to adequately address the question of whether GPs asked Lara for permission to confide in her parents.

Upholding the complaint made by the couple, the commission says the GPs’ response to the two issues fell below the standard expected.

The surgery has now been asked to provide further information.

However, the commission says it accepts their view that breaching Lara’s confidentiality would probably not have prevented her death.

Mr and Mrs Edgell have also complained about the Hampshire and Sussex NHS trusts, claiming that doctors failed to exchange information about her condition.

Mr Edgell said: “We have spent the past three years trying to bring some good out of Lara’s tragedy by highlighting faults in the mental health service which, if put right, might prevent other families from having to go through what we did.”

Mrs Edgell added: “While we are pleased that the commission recognised some shortcomings they still have not addressed our main concerns.

“This isn’t about individual doctors, it’s about the system.

“Care in the community is a wonderful idea but how can it work without communication between all concerned? All the various agencies must work together and doctors must stop hiding behind ‘patient confidentiality’.

“We were never advised on what medication Lara was meant to be taking, or the extent of her illness.”

Dr Stephen Baynes, one of the GPs at the Brockenhurst Surgery, said: “We are very sorry about Lara’s tragic death and wish to extend our sympathy to her family.

“We have noted the recommendations made by the Healthcare Commission and are taking appropriate action.”