'Fight your corner': Heartbroken daughter urges medics to communicate better after super-fit Shrewsbury mum died after battle with chronic back pain and mental health

Jane Arnold was a super-fit grandmother-of-two who “had a six-pack when she was 60” and was a star athlete in her youth, throwing the javelin in All England competitions.

She ran a popular bed and breakfast in Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, took on leadership roles within local tennis and baked 1,000 cakes for a hospital’s ICU department during the Covid pandemic.

However, she suffered from serious back pain from 2018 and, despite surgery and painkillers, she struggled to cope mentally.

On May 31 this year, she was found at home in Bicton Heath, Shrewsbury, having taken her own life. She was 71.

An inquest into her death was held at Shropshire Coroner’s Court, Guildhall, Shrewsbury, and her daughter, Julia Bishop, fought back tears as she addressed Heath Westerman, deputy coroner for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

“She shouldn’t have died,” Julia said. “She tried everything she could to get the help she needed but she was in chronic pain for three or four years.

“She advocated for herself and I advocated for her. She wanted to be on this planet but she was in so much pain.

“We would go to the doctors and they would pass her off with co-codamol, which weren’t strong enough. She begged and pleaded.

“She was an athlete. She was a phenomenal woman.”

Julia also described a previous occasion where her mother had to wait 14 hours before a mental health crisis worker got in contact after a serious episode.

She said her mother was given a bed in the Redwoods Centre mental health facility, but was put on an “inappropriate” ward with younger people suffering from psychosis, before being discharged 12 hours later.

Reflecting on Mrs Arnold's death, Julia said: “This should never have happened. Now I’ve been left without a mother.

“There have been a number of people in my position before. People try and fight the case but it doesn’t get anywhere.

“I’ve written letters to people involved saying what I think could have been done to improve things.”

Mrs Arnold, who was born in Yorkshire, first started suffering with her back in 2018.

She had surgery at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) near Oswestry in 2022. The operation was supposed to be a spinal infusion but the surgeon decided removing pieces of a disc would be a better option for her.

Within 24 hours of being discharged, Mrs Arnold fell and broke her left wrist, ending up at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, which is run by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Trust (Sath) for 10 days before being transferred to RJAH.

According to her daughter, Mrs Arnold’s mental health suffered further after she broke her wrist as she couldn’t do things she loved, like gardening and cooking. She also lost confidence to look after her granddaughters.

“She always fought for herself and didn’t want to be a burden on the NHS,” Julia said. “She always strived to be fit and well.”

RJAH referred Mrs Arnold to a hospital in Liverpool for a spinal infusion, but a medic there believed she had fibromyalgia. 

Then Mrs Arnold had her gall bladder removed in June last year, with stomach pains afterwards further exacerbating her mental health troubles.

In December last year she was prescribed morphine, but she felt the dosage was too high. 

Julia said her mother was assigned a mental health worker who was supposed to check in with her multiple times a week but did not.

Different treatments were tried, but it just made her pain worse.

Mrs Arnold was going to her GP on a weekly basis but no-one could find the answers to help improve her physical pain and mental struggles.

Mr Westerman recorded a conclusion of suicide.

"Those who shout the loudest get seen."

“I’m deeply sorry for the events as they unfolded and for your loss,” he told Julia.

After the hearing, Julia told the Shropshire Star she hopes that medical professionals will “communicate better” in the future.

“We went up to Liverpool and scans hadn’t been sent through,” she said, adding that there were other occasions where her mother’s medical history had not been shared.

“It felt like they weren’t listening,” she said.

“I just want them to communicate better and for people to realise if they need help, they should fight their corner. Those who shout the loudest get seen.

“There’s a lack of communication and a lack of funding, meaning people can’t get to the services they need.

“She couldn’t see that she was going to be getting any help. She couldn’t see how things were going to get any better.

“She didn’t have any quality of life."

Julia said that her mum was one of seven siblings and was a twin.

Mrs Arnold cared for her husband Pete, who suffered from Parkinson's, until he died aged 64.

She was a treasurer for Tennis Shropshire and got her daughter Julia into tennis when she was a youngster.

Julia once got to play in an exhibition at Wimbledon as a schoolgirl, meeting legends Andre Agassi and seven-time champion “Pistol” Pete Sampras.

Julia joked that her mum went into “stalker mode” at the All England Club, meeting and getting pictures with the great and good of tennis including former champs Boris Becker and John McEnroe, as well as British commentator and former player Andrew Castle.

“She was a phenomenal mum,” Julia said.

Vanessa Whatley, Chief Nursing Officer for NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, issued a statement on behalf of  on behalf of Sath and RJAH.

She said: “We would like to express our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mrs Arnold at this very difficult time. Our thoughts are with them as they continue to come to terms with their loss.

"We acknowledge the comments shared by Mrs Arnold’s daughter during the inquest and while the coroner concluded that Mrs Arnold died as a result of suicide, we recognise the wider reflections made about communication and coordination between health services.

"As a health and care system in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin we are committed to working closely with our partners to ensure that patients receive joined-up, compassionate care. We are continually seeking to strengthen communication and information-sharing between services so that individuals with complex needs receive the right support at the right time.

"We extend our heartfelt sympathies once again to Mrs Arnold’s family and thank them for sharing their experiences to help improve care for others in the future.”

Cathy Riley, managing director for Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin Care Group at Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We’d like to express our sympathies to the family of Mrs Arnold and thank them for sharing their reflections on her care. We are committed to providing the best possible care and support for all the communities we serve and will always reflect on feedback to identify any potential learnings that enable us to best deliver this, ensuring we work closely with health and care partners where appropriate.”