The family of a 14-year-old girl from Feltham who died after being admitted to a Priory hospital are hoping for answers from an inquest.

Amy El-Keria was found collapsed with a ligature round her neck in her room at The Priory Hospital Ticehurst House, in East Sussex, on the evening of November 12 2012.

The teenager, who had been admitted to the hospital in August that year after being referred by West London Mental Health NHS Trust (WLMHT), was pronounced dead early the following morning.

An inquest into her death is due to begin at Horsham Coroners Court on Thursday (May 12), and is expected to last for two to three weeks.

Her family hope the hearing will address key questions surrounding her admission to the private psychiatric hospital, run by the Priory Group, which also owns The Priory in Roehampton, where many celebrities have been treated.

They want to know why she was placed so far from home, what assessment was made of her risk of self-harm and whether restraint and forced medication were used, among other questions.

'We truly hope this inquest will give us answers'

Amy's mother, Tania El-Keria, said: "WLMHT funded this referral to the Priory for Amy to secure the help we as a family knew she so desperately needed.

"We want to know how our Amy came to die while under the care of this specialist unit and we truly hope this inquest will give us answers. Nearly four years since her death, it has been a long and painful wait."

Amy, who had never before been admitted to a psychiatric hospital, was staying in a specialist high dependency unit at Ticehurst. Staff were required to check on her every 15 minutes throughout her admission.

The teenager had a number of complex mental and physical health issues, including Tourette's, obsessive-compulsive, attention deficit and gender identity disorders and possibly Asperger's Syndrome.

She was admitted to Ticehurst after being found in her bedroom at home with a ligature round her neck, in what her family believed was a cry for help.

Deborah Coles, of the charity INQUEST, which is supporting the teenager's family, said: "This is the first time since her death in 2012 that the facts and circumstances of Amy’s death will be independently examined.

'Critically important inquest'

"At a time when so many concerns are being raised about the state of mental health services for children and young people, this is a critically important inquest."

INQUEST says Amy was one of at least 11 children to have died as inpatients at mental health institutions between 2010 and 2014.

It says there is currently no system of independent investigation into such deaths ahead of an inquest being completed.

A spokesperson for Ticehurst House said: "We were deeply saddened by Amy's death and would like to express our heartfelt condolences to her family at this difficult time.

"As is always the case in these circumstances, we are working closely with the coroner and have already conducted a comprehensive investigation to learn all lessons from this case.

"The wellbeing and safety of all of our patients continues to be our highest priority and we will carefully consider any comments the coroner makes."

Amy's family, representatives from the Priory Group, two individual doctors, WLMHT and Hounslow Council's social services team are all on the list of interested persons for the inquest.

A spokesperson for WLMHT said: "We convey deepest sympathies and condolences to Amy El-Keria's family, following her death in November 2012.

"We are unable to comment further as an inquest is being held by the coroner and we have a duty of confidentiality to our patients such that we do not comment specifically on individuals accessing our services."

getwestlondon has contacted Hounslow Council, which says it does not wish to comment ahead of the inquest.