London: A mother who jumped in front of a train killing herself and her two children had been let down by social services, her friends said today.
Navjeet Sidhu, 27, was receiving treatment for depression when she killed herself, daughter Simran, five, and her son Aman Raj, 23 months, at Southall train station on 30 August last year.
This weekend it emerged that a secret inquiry into her death found a damning series of errors by professionals from the mental health trust and social services leading up to the tragedy.
The report, by the West London Health Trust, concludes that there were 11 areas where Mrs Sidhu's case "could have been managed differently".
It found that anti-depressants prescribed to Mrs Sidhu were changed repeatedly without explanation just a month before her death and there was a series of communication failures between doctors and social workers.
Mrs Sidhu and her two children died after she flung herself into the path of a 100mph Heathrow Express.
The former receptionist, who had quit her job after marrying Indian-born Post Office worker Manjit, had earlier told a railway worker at the station: "I'm taking my children to see the trains." The family's tragedy was compounded when, in February this year, Mrs Sidhu's mother, Satwant Kaur Sodhi, 56, committed a copycat suicide at the same spot.
An inquest into all four deaths will take place next month. Following the death of his wife and children, Manjit Sidhu became severely depressed and is thought to have returned to India.
Today friends and associates of the Sidhu family called for action. Dr Avtar Lit, who employed Mrs Sidhu at his Southall radio station, Sunrise, said: "Important lessons must be learnt in a thorough investigation into their deaths. This young lady went to the professionals for help the inquiry suggests that she was let down."
Himmat Singh Sohi, a family friend and president of Southall's Sikh gurdwara, said: "When Asian people have depression, the authorities do not know how to give proper care as they do not understand the cultural pressures."
The inquiry was chaired by the trust's associate director of local services, Trevor Farmer. It found a catalogue of errors.
