Seeing A Person, Not A Line Of Data
14/10/2025
Andy Cameron-Smith
Lucy’s story: a tale of how we can do better
Every week across Britain, tragically lives are lost because some of the systems built to protect people are not delivering. Lucy’s story is one of them. Her death displays how, in some cases, privacy concerns and fragmented services can get in the way of joined-up care.
Lucy was a young mother, bright, kind and determined to be well. Over three years she was admitted to hospital 18 times with seizures, infections, overdoses and sepsis. Each time she was treated, patched up and sent home. Each service that interacted with her focused only on its part of the problem.
In a recent Healthy Homes Hub podcast, Lucy’s mother, Maggie, described how she tried again and again to raise the alarm. “I was shouting into a void,” she said. “Nobody would talk to me. Nobody joined the dots.”
If privacy rules are applied too rigidly, are compassion and common sense lost? Sadly, Lucy died alone in her council flat on her little boy’s third birthday.
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