BOLTON Hospitals NHS Trust has defended its decision to discharge a woman with a long history of psychiatric illness from hospital just three days after she had taken an overdose.

As reported in Thursday's BEN, the mother of two young sons set fire to herself a week later in a Bolton town centre toilet and died is hospital from the burns.

At the inquest into the death of divorcee Yasmin Mohamed, coroner Martin Coppel questioned the judgement of medical staff to discharge a woman who in the past had expressed a 'death wish'.

Yasmin, 36, of Dijon Street, Deane, took her own life in the public toilets in Old Hall Street.

In response to the coroner's comments, a spokesman for Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust said: "A report was sent to the coroner's office and we cannot comment further on this individual case.

"However, decisions like this are taken after thorough weighing up of any known risks. There is consultation involving not just hospital staff but also community health staff and social workers and arrangements for after care are made." Mary Barbour, chairman of Bolton's Community Health Council, said: "I cannot comment on individual decisions that have to be made by people who have to make a judgement.

"It is difficult to get the balance right between an individual's right to freedom against their right to protection.

"These are difficult decisions and in this case it would appear that the medical staff got it wrong."

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