Kendal family search for answers around son Oskar Carrick's death in Sheffield

Oskar Carrick died in his halls of residence at Sheffield Hallam University on June 19 last year, three weeks before his 21st birthday.

Parents Maxine Carrick and Gary Potts, who live near Kendal, described their late son as a ‘sensitive, quirky, outgoing, and inquisitive young man’.

Maxine said: “He was a committed friend who loved meeting new people and always saw the best in people. He was always up for an adventure and was good at talking his friends into traveling the length and breadth of the country to places he had yet to visit. He has left a huge hole in our lives that can never be filled.”

Oskar’s death ‘changed the family forever’ and sparked questions surrounding the circumstances of his death.

Maxine said: “I feel questions are not being asked and most certainly have not been answered to us as a family.

“Oskar left home a happy excited young person who was looking forward to making a career for himself in film. He was not depressed; he had suffered a traumatic brain injury 18 months earlier from being a passenger in a road traffic collision. This disability was declared to the university along with the issues it presented for him such as memory issues.

Oskar Carrick (Image: Submitted)

“I filled in a form with him when making the declaration, giving me as the named person to be contacted should anything untoward happen, or if they had any concerns about him, I naively thought he would be safe and that someone would be looking out for him.”

The family said the ‘small amount of information’ received from both Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust is ‘shocking’.

Maxine has raised several questions to the hospital trust, including how her son was allowed to be discharged and deemed ‘low risk’ following a reported suicide attempt in his halls.

“I can see at least five occasions in the documentation when the University should have contacted me, and for some reason they chose not to, and I need to know why,” she said.

“On one of those occasions, Oskar consented to the wellbeing unit for his information to be shared with myself and the GP; neither of us was contacted and three weeks later he was dead.

“My son did not come to Sheffield to die, he came to learn skills and to meet friends. Oskar is not able to put his side of the story over, therefore as a parent it is my duty to give him a voice.

“As I know with conversations with him days before, he did not want to die, he wanted to live, have a family and to travel.

“Universities should have a duty of care and information should be shared within different bodies of the university.

Oskar Carrick (Image: Newsquest)

“In Oskar’s case it appears that the halls of residence had not been informed about his disability, he was locked down due to Covid and unable to mix with his friends. This alone would have had detrimental effect on his wellbeing, never mind the fact that there appeared to be copious amount of alcohol consumption in the halls during the time they were locked down.”

Maxine believes her son would ‘still be alive’ if she was contacted by either the university or health trust about his ongoing issues.

She said: “There needs to be a duty of care, especially when a student is classed as disabled and vulnerable. I thought my son was safe and that someone would be looking out for him and that they would have contacted me should he have had any issues, both academically and socially.  They would have contacted me quickly enough had he not paid his rent.

“I don’t want any other parent to go through this and in my mind if you are liable for students rent then you are responsible for their behaviour and parents should be contacted to support or remove their child if there is a health breakdown. 

“I must be Oskar’s voice in this procedure, and I feel missed opportunities must be questioned and hopefully this will prevent this happening to anyone else. Had I been informed about any of the incidents regarding Oskar I would have brought him home to receive help and I believe he would still be alive.”

The family is urgently appealing for help and support to pay for legal representation to raise questions ‘not being answered’ by the health trust and university at Oskar’s upcoming inquest.

The family applied for exceptional funding through legal aid which was rejected.

Oskar Carrick (Image: Submitted)

A spokesman for Sheffield Hallam University said: “The University community was saddened by the loss of Oskar, and we would like to again offer our deepest condolences to his family and friends. 

“We are working with the coroner to provide all the relevant information ahead of the inquest. Therefore, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this time.

“We take supporting our students’ mental health and wellbeing extremely seriously. In recent years we have significantly increased resources to provide access to a wide range of support services, whilst every student has access to dedicated advisors.

“The University also works closely with the Students’ Union, the city council and local health authorities to help keep our communities safe.”

A spokeswoman for Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are deeply saddened by the death of Oskar and we would like to extend our condolences to his family and friends. We will work with the Coronial process in the coming weeks to answer questions about his death as part of the inquest.”

Oskar’s inquest is due to be held on November 21.

If you would like to help support the family in funding legal aid, visit: Oskar was let down, where was the duty of care? (crowdjustice.com)