Donna Oettinger and her baby Zaki died on a train track after the mother was told she couldn't getpsychiatric help, an inquest has heard . A mother cradling her three-year-old son lay down in front of a train after being told by her psychiatrist 'I can't help you', an inquest has heard. Donna Oettinger, 41, had been denied urgent psychiatric help in the months before she and her son Zaki died on train tracks in south London in March 2013, it was claimed. Just three months before her death, she took an overdose while visiting a friend in Yorkshire and was 'disappointed' to have survived, the inquest was told. A care worker treating the accounts assistant from Croydon in south London then told her family she needed 'urgent' home care on her discharge. Despite being promised this by mental health bosses, Ms Oettinger was then told the home team could not provide psychiatric help, the inquest heard. An inquest into the two deaths at Croydon Coroner's Court today heard her mother Carol Oettinger describe the family's battle to secure the right therapy for her daughter. She told the inquest her daughter went alone to visit friend Frances Felt in Yorkshire to 'work on her anxiety' in December 2012 but took an overdose. A day later she was seen by Paul Willison, a social worker in Rotherham, who recommended that she received 'intensive home therapy'. After agreeing to receive treatment and telling doctors she recognised the consequences of her behaviour, she was then deemed 'not treatable'. In a statement given to the inquest Mr Willison said he contacted health workers in Croydon with his concerns and said: '[They] said there was a home treatment team that covered Donna's locality.' However her mother told the court that on her daughter's return to London, a psychiatric nurse said this was not the case. Mrs Oettinger told the inquest: 'We said Donna had just come out of intensive care, Paul Willison had faxed his concerns through saying she needed urgent treatment. She said 'we didn't do urgent treatment here.' In desperation the family turned to her psychiatrist, Dr Hemanth Rao, but Mrs Oettinger added: 'Donna said she was unhappy to have survived her suicide attempt. 'I said to Dr Rao about Mr Willison's report... she was recommended home treatments, there was nothing in actual fact. Dr Rao said he couldn't help us.' Mrs Oettinger had starting suffering depression after going to Zaki's father, Mohammed El Shaer, in Egypt . Trainee psychologist Dr Hermanth Rao, said: 'Potentially any patient can benefit from home treatment. 'I don't really know how the home treatment team (HTT) works in Rotherham, there is a suggestion that there is some psychological treatment that they could give. 'However in Tamworth Road in London the HTT is not experienced in providing psychiatric therapy. 'In Rotherham they said the HTT is necessary because of the skills of the team, but the same may not be same in London. 'I also suspect that the HTT threshold in Rotherham might be much lower than in London.' Dr Rao said that a faxed note from Rotherham social worker Paul Willison had not been 'uploaded' to computer systems. In a statement the social worker told the inquest that he had advised Ms Oettinger was given home treatment and checked that it would be available in Croydon. After seeing Ms Oettinger on return from Yorkshire Dr Rao advised that she was assigned a 'care coordinator' to be provided through the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. However a miscommunication meant that the intended nurse, Elizabeth Oduntan, was not informed, the inquest heard. Ms Oettinger was seen by the nurse for an assessment on December 17, just days after her failed suicide bid. She admitted to Coroner that she had not checked the notes faxed by the Rotherham team. She said: 'It's not something I would usually do, but I can't remember why I didn't contact Rotherham.' When asked if she agreed she should have she replied 'yes, if I had the time.' Instead the nurse said it was a 'duty crisis' and her only objective was to make sure her patient was on the right medication. 'The immediate problem presented to me was how is she doing to be safe,' she told the inquest. The coroner highlighted that without contacting the doctors who treated her for her overdose she wouldn't have been able to give the correct advice, to which the nurse agreed. Shaheen Rahman, representing Ms Oettinger's family, said the nurse had done 'the very minimum' considering she was assessing someone who had just tried to kill themselves. As a result Ms Oettinger was not immediately referred to the HTT. She was admitted to A&E at the Mayday Hospital, Croydon, on January 17 after telling her sister that she wanted to end her life. It was not until then that Dr Rao finally made a recommendation that the nurse be assigned as her care coordinator. But he no longer had any contact with the family after mid-January as the trainee, on a six-month rotation scheme, left the clinic. The inquest heard how Ms Oettinger began suffering with severe anxiety after a period of cocaine use that came to an end in Spring 2012 when she went to see Zaki's Egyptian father, Mohammed El Shaer. But going clean left her terrified she had caused herself permanent harm and, through tears, Mrs Oettinger said: 'Donna was worried about her mental health, she had panic attacks and suffered with anxiety. 'She kept saying to me 'am I going to get better?' I said 'of course you are going to get better.' In September 2012, the family arranged to see a private psychiatrist who diagnosed an anxiety disorder, but they were told that they would have to wait up to 18 months for therapy sessions on the NHS. Her mother said: 'I wanted to take her to see somebody so there could be some reassurance that she hadn't damaged herself, that there were possibilities of her getting better.' Ms Oettinger was left to cope with the medication and suffered with side effects, but struggled at work as her illness affected her concentration. The mother and baby were seen lying on the tracks at Riddlesdown Station,  before their deaths . Her condition deteriorated to the point she had to leave work and could not look after her son properly, the inquest heard. 'She wanted to get better. I looked after Zaki, even though Donna was ill she would give him a kiss in the morning and at night when he went to bed,' her mother told the inquest. Then in October 2012 she began to make threats to kill herself. Her mother broke down as she gave a harrowing account of stopping her daughter throwing herself in front of a train after a trip to buy a coat for Zaki. She said: 'We got to the station and she said 'I'm going to throw myself under the next train.' We sat down and I had my legs over her to make her sit there. Zaki was in the pushchair.' The inquest heard how Ms Oettinger threatened to hurt herself on two other occasions with a knife and was referred to a specialist psychologist with the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust in October 2012. Ms Oettinger and her son were struck by a service from Uckfield to London Bridge on March 22, 2013. The inquest heard a harrowing account from train driver Patrick Cusak who spotted her jump onto tracks with Zaki as he neared the station, just yards from the home they shared with her mother in Croydon. They had walked to the station from their south London home. A police report said: 'There was nothing in her demeanour to suggest they are anything other than mother and son on their way to the station' In a statement the train driver said: 'She jumped down, I think she almost rolled over to cuddle the child. She had a gentle arm, a consoling arm around the child.' The pair were pronounced dead at the scene. A police investigation said the pair's final journey to the station was caught on CCTV and there was 'no doubt' anything had been dropped on tracks. A report said 'there was nothing in her demeanour to suggest they are anything other than mother and son on their way to the station.' The two-day inquest continues. For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here.
Mother and baby died on train tracks in south London in March 2013 .
Inquest hears mother had  taken an overdose three months earlier .
She was promised home psychiatric help, but was later told not available, inquest told .
Doctor says home team could not provide psychiatric home care but he did try to assign a care coordinator .
Donna Oettinger and her baby Zaki died on a train track after the mother was told she couldn't getpsychiatric help, an inquest has heard . A mother cradling her three-year-old son lay down in front of a train after being told by her psychiatrist 'I can't help you', an inquest has heard. Donna Oettinger, 41, had been denied urgent psychiatric help in the months before she and her son Zaki died on train tracks in south London in March 2013, it was claimed. Just three months before her death, she took an overdose while visiting a friend in Yorkshire and was 'disappointed' to have survived, the inquest was told. A care worker treating the accounts assistant from Croydon in south London then told her family she needed 'urgent' home care on her discharge. Despite being promised this by mental health bosses, Ms Oettinger was then told the home team could not provide psychiatric help, the inquest heard. An inquest into the two deaths at Croydon Coroner's Court today heard her mother Carol Oettinger describe the family's battle to secure the right therapy for her daughter. She told the inquest her daughter went alone to visit friend Frances Felt in Yorkshire to 'work on her anxiety' in December 2012 but took an overdose. A day later she was seen by Paul Willison, a social worker in Rotherham, who recommended that she received 'intensive home therapy'. After agreeing to receive treatment and telling doctors she recognised the consequences of her behaviour, she was then deemed 'not treatable'. In a statement given to the inquest Mr Willison said he contacted health workers in Croydon with his concerns and said: '[They] said there was a home treatment team that covered Donna's locality.' However her mother told the court that on her daughter's return to London, a psychiatric nurse said this was not the case. Mrs Oettinger told the inquest: 'We said Donna had just come out of intensive care, Paul Willison had faxed his concerns through saying she needed urgent treatment. She said 'we didn't do urgent treatment here.' In desperation the family turned to her psychiatrist, Dr Hemanth Rao, but Mrs Oettinger added: 'Donna said she was unhappy to have survived her suicide attempt. 'I said to Dr Rao about Mr Willison's report... she was recommended home treatments, there was nothing in actual fact. Dr Rao said he couldn't help us.' Mrs Oettinger had starting suffering depression after going to Zaki's father, Mohammed El Shaer, in Egypt . Trainee psychologist Dr Hermanth Rao, said: 'Potentially any patient can benefit from home treatment. 'I don't really know how the home treatment team (HTT) works in Rotherham, there is a suggestion that there is some psychological treatment that they could give. 'However in Tamworth Road in London the HTT is not experienced in providing psychiatric therapy. 'In Rotherham they said the HTT is necessary because of the skills of the team, but the same may not be same in London. 'I also suspect that the HTT threshold in Rotherham might be much lower than in London.' Dr Rao said that a faxed note from Rotherham social worker Paul Willison had not been 'uploaded' to computer systems. In a statement the social worker told the inquest that he had advised Ms Oettinger was given home treatment and checked that it would be available in Croydon. After seeing Ms Oettinger on return from Yorkshire Dr Rao advised that she was assigned a 'care coordinator' to be provided through the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. However a miscommunication meant that the intended nurse, Elizabeth Oduntan, was not informed, the inquest heard. Ms Oettinger was seen by the nurse for an assessment on December 17, just days after her failed suicide bid. She admitted to Coroner that she had not checked the notes faxed by the Rotherham team. She said: 'It's not something I would usually do, but I can't remember why I didn't contact Rotherham.' When asked if she agreed she should have she replied 'yes, if I had the time.' Instead the nurse said it was a 'duty crisis' and her only objective was to make sure her patient was on the right medication. 'The immediate problem presented to me was how is she doing to be safe,' she told the inquest. The coroner highlighted that without contacting the doctors who treated her for her overdose she wouldn't have been able to give the correct advice, to which the nurse agreed. Shaheen Rahman, representing Ms Oettinger's family, said the nurse had done 'the very minimum' considering she was assessing someone who had just tried to kill themselves. As a result Ms Oettinger was not immediately referred to the HTT. She was admitted to A&E at the Mayday Hospital, Croydon, on January 17 after telling her sister that she wanted to end her life. It was not until then that Dr Rao finally made a recommendation that the nurse be assigned as her care coordinator. But he no longer had any contact with the family after mid-January as the trainee, on a six-month rotation scheme, left the clinic. The inquest heard how Ms Oettinger began suffering with severe anxiety after a period of cocaine use that came to an end in Spring 2012 when she went to see Zaki's Egyptian father, Mohammed El Shaer. But going clean left her terrified she had caused herself permanent harm and, through tears, Mrs Oettinger said: 'Donna was worried about her mental health, she had panic attacks and suffered with anxiety. 'She kept saying to me 'am I going to get better?' I said 'of course you are going to get better.' In September 2012, the family arranged to see a private psychiatrist who diagnosed an anxiety disorder, but they were told that they would have to wait up to 18 months for therapy sessions on the NHS. Her mother said: 'I wanted to take her to see somebody so there could be some reassurance that she hadn't damaged herself, that there were possibilities of her getting better.' Ms Oettinger was left to cope with the medication and suffered with side effects, but struggled at work as her illness affected her concentration. The mother and baby were seen lying on the tracks at Riddlesdown Station,  before their deaths . Her condition deteriorated to the point she had to leave work and could not look after her son properly, the inquest heard. 'She wanted to get better. I looked after Zaki, even though Donna was ill she would give him a kiss in the morning and at night when he went to bed,' her mother told the inquest. Then in October 2012 she began to make threats to kill herself. Her mother broke down as she gave a harrowing account of stopping her daughter throwing herself in front of a train after a trip to buy a coat for Zaki. She said: 'We got to the station and she said 'I'm going to throw myself under the next train.' We sat down and I had my legs over her to make her sit there. Zaki was in the pushchair.' The inquest heard how Ms Oettinger threatened to hurt herself on two other occasions with a knife and was referred to a specialist psychologist with the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust in October 2012. Ms Oettinger and her son were struck by a service from Uckfield to London Bridge on March 22, 2013. The inquest heard a harrowing account from train driver Patrick Cusak who spotted her jump onto tracks with Zaki as he neared the station, just yards from the home they shared with her mother in Croydon. They had walked to the station from their south London home. A police report said: 'There was nothing in her demeanour to suggest they are anything other than mother and son on their way to the station' In a statement the train driver said: 'She jumped down, I think she almost rolled over to cuddle the child. She had a gentle arm, a consoling arm around the child.' The pair were pronounced dead at the scene. A police investigation said the pair's final journey to the station was caught on CCTV and there was 'no doubt' anything had been dropped on tracks. A report said 'there was nothing in her demeanour to suggest they are anything other than mother and son on their way to the station.' The two-day inquest continues. For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here.
and her son Zaki died on train tracks in south London in March 2013, it was claimed. Just three months before her death, she took an overdose home team could not provide psychiatric help, the assigned a 'care coordinator' to be provided affected her concentration. The mother and baby