A campaigner is calling for changes to the way mental health services are run after an inquest into his sister’s suicide found doctors had failed her.

Rabbi Michael Hilton, who works at Kol Chai Synagogue, in Hatch End and lives in Mill Hill, lost his sister, Rosemary Hilton in January 2014, after she spent over a year struggling with depression.

Rosemary, who lived in Hillingdon, had been treated as an in-patient at a number of mental health facilities in 2013.

She made two attempts to end her life but was discharged in May 2013 and put under the care of Hillingdon Recovery Team, managed by the Central and North West London Trust

The 61-year-old had what her brother refers to as “smiling depression” because she did not appear sad on the outside.

But on her birthday in January 2014 that she told him she had tried to take her own life several times that week, so he phoned the trust’s crisis line – but got through to voicemail.

A nurse later rang Rosemary back who said she was well and days later a health care team met to discuss her care – but did not propose any action. Rosemary died that day.

At an inquest at West London Coroners Court held in May, coroner Chinyere Inyama said Rosemary died because doctors missed opportunities to help her.

Rabbi Hilton said: “This should be a concern to all of us because I have no reason to believe they singled her out for poor treatment.

“Sadly if we don’t improve emergency care people are going to continue to die. This is about saving lives.”

A 15-page complaint letter Rabbi Hilton sent to the authority after Rosemary’s death detailed a series of failings over the course of a year.

He believes the mistakes were partly because health workers did not take risks seriously or establish a continuous and trusting relationship with Rosemary.

Her condition should have been treatable, and Rabbi Hilton is open about the anger he feels that Rosemary was not properly cared for.

He added: “At the end of her life her friends and family knew how ill she was, but the people responsible for her care – the CNWL Trust – we couldn’t get them to get the message.”

He since received an apology from the trust, and believes his campaign has sent shock-waves through the organisation.

Chief executive of CNWL Trust, Claire Murdoch, said: “On behalf of the Trust I apologise to you and Rosemary’s wider family and friends, unreservedly.

“Together with our commissioners we are determined to make the improvements that people experiencing mental health problems deserve and have a right to expect.”

Rabbi Hilton is now concerned about whether the trust will work to prevent further failings.

Despite praising CNWL for making efforts to improve the out of hours cover, he believes mental health is not taken as seriously as physical health.

He added: "Until attitudes change, things will continue the way they are.

"When the health services fail, the communities are the ones that pick up the pieces."

CNWL’s Chief Executive Claire Murdoch said the trust had met all the recommendations to rectify issues after Rosemary's trafic death.

The improvements included reviewing the complaints process, implementing better risk-assessment systems, and ensuring all relevant patient information is recorded and communicated.

She said: “We do believe that with the improvements we have made that people experiencing mental health problems will receive the level of care they deserve.”