Former Shrewsbury mayor settles with previous addiction support providers after death of daughter

Jane Mackenzie says she is on a 'mission' to highlight what she believes is a 'lack of support in Shropshire' after accepting undisclosed damages for the 'failings in the care' offered to Amy Jane Liebich who died on May 15 in 2019 after a lengthy battle with an alcohol addiction.

Amy first sought help with alcohol issues when she was a student, and is said to have repeatedly asked the then operators of Shropshire Recovery Partnership for detox programmes and appropriate treatment.

Shropshire Recovery Partnership is now run by a different provider and serves more than 1,500 clients in the county says they are "sorry to learn about the experience that Amy's family had" with its previous operators.

Jane, a former Shrewsbury mayor who set up charity 'Share Shrewsbury' says Amy needed a mental health assessment to understand the root cause of her addiction, but that 'nothing was offered', and is campaigning to improve addiction support in the county.

Jane said: "I just want Amy's voice to be heard. She didn't need to die, and there are many more people who will die because nothing has changed. Amy was powerless to stop her drinking, and she knew it was killing her.

"She was desperate for help, but she was not given it. In fact, local services withdrew their support, and left her to suffer.

"Even though Amy was seriously ill, Shropshire Recovery Partnership (operators at the time) insisted on discharging her from their service if she missed more than one appointment. This meant she was forced to go back to square on and repeatedly refer herself back into the service, in order to try to receive any help at all."

Adding: "It wasn't just the lack of support. They actually prevented her from getting the help she needed because they refused to refer her to the services and experts who could have helped her."

Since being taken over by new providers, Shropshire Recovery Partnership has received a rating of 'Outstanding' for its care and an overall rating of 'Good' by an independent inspection by CQC.

Jane now runs her charity Share Shrewsbury that supports anyone in the county town suffering with an alcohol addiction, as well as aiming to raise awareness of the risks associated with alcohol.

The former Shrewsbury mayor has also recently taken part in 'Crucial Crew' - an annual personal safety course for children in the final year of primary school, and was able to tell Amy's story and explain the dangers of alcohol.

She said: "We need to have an honest conversation with the public about alcohol to explain how addictive and damaging it can be. More needs to be done about how it is marketed and packaged, because people just don't realise the harm it can do.

"We were told by Shropshire Recovery Partnership practitioners that we had to allow Amy to hit rock bottom before she could be helped."

Amy was briefly supported by the Telford After Care Team (TACT) two months before she died that Jane said 'offered much more practical help', and "gave her hope".

Jane added: "My heart will always be utterly broken, and I'll never be able to put my shattered life back together, but I am trying to keep moving and keep breathing.

"Amy was my dearest friend, my soulmate, and magical company; to know her was to love her, and I yearn for her constantly. The pain of her loss never goes away, and it is made even worse by knowing that she did not need to die."

Associate Michael Portman-Hann from FBC Manby Bowdler Solicitors, said: "The (then) operators of Shropshire Recovery Partnership initially denied liability in the claim, however I'm pleased that we have been able to agree a settlement to allow Jane and her family to start to move on.

"Health professionals dealing with individuals suffering with addiction need to look at the whole person, not just the erratic and destructive behaviours caused by the disease. There were lots of opportunities for the Partnership to offer Amy more support and to refer her to mental health professionals and other programmes that could have made a difference, but they didn't do that."

A spokesperson from Shropshire Recovery Partnership says: "We are sorry to learn about the experience that Amy's family had with the previous provider of Shropshire Recovery Partnership, and how their loss continues to impact them.

"Shropshire Recovery Partnership is committed to providing care that meets the needs of individuals across Shropshire, and delivers services to more than 1,500 people who are experiencing challenges with drugs or alcohol.

"Since we took over as lead provider for Shropshire Recovery Partnership, the service has been independently inspected by the CQC, receiving a rating of 'Outstanding' for care and an overall rating of 'Good'. We are committed to further developing our services for local residents and have increased our workforce, grown our support to families, and developed our recovery services with peer support.

"We strongly encourage feedback from anyone who accesses our service so that we can work closely with our clients to make any necessary changes and improvements."

Further information about the support offered by Share Shrewsbury can be found at: https://shareshrewsbury.org.uk/

Shropshire residents can access Shropshire Recovery Partnership's services - free of charge - by calling 01743 294 700 or visiting: wearewithyou.org.uk/local-hubs/shropshire