AN INVESTIGATION has been launched after the death of a young woman at an acute mental health unit.

The woman, who was in her 20s, was discovered on Wednesday evening on the Thorpe Ward at the Basildon Mental Health unit, in Nethermayne.

Thorpe ward offers acute inpatient services to adults experiencing mental health episodes and offers intense supervision and support where needed.

That night, witnesses reported medics rushing with a crash trolley to the dorm where the patient was being treated at the time before paramedics arrived but sadly she was pronounced dead at the scene.

One woman, who is also a patient at the hospital and has asked to remain anonymous, said: “When they realised something was wrong, everyone was rushed out of her dorm so they could focus on her.

“Everyone has been asked to give statements to the police.

“I’ve been told the dorm was cornered off and forensics went in to carry out examinations.

“It’s very sad that this has happened. I’ve known her for many years. Rest in peace and I’m so sorry this has happened to her.”

A spokesman for the Essex Partnership University Foundation Trust said: “Sadly, a woman in her 20s was pronounced dead at Basildon Mental Health unit on January 16.

“An internal investigation into the woman’s death is underway.”

A spokesman for Essex Police confirmed they attended the scene and said: “We were called to an Essex Partnership University Trust facility in Basildon at around 8.35pm on January 16 with concerns about a woman’s welfare.

“Sadly, a woman aged in her 20s was pronounced dead at the scene by hospital and ambulance staff. Enquiries into the circumstances around the woman’s death are ongoing, but it is not being treated as suspicious.

“A file will be prepared for HM’s Coroner in due course.”