Man took his own life after walking out of hospital
INQUEST HEARS STAFF WERE NOT ABLE TO DETAIN HIM AGAINST HIS OWN WILL AFTER 999 ADMISSION
A YOUNG bricklayer was found hanged hours after walking out of hospital having been taken in when threatening to kill himself.
Dean Wagstaff, 31, had been admitted to Burton’s Queen’s Hospital after telling his YMCA support worker that he wanted to end his life after suffering the pressures of moving home and having being interviewed by police that day about “sensitive matters”, an inquest heard.
A worried member of staff from his mental health team dialled 999 and an ambulance took him to hospital. However, within 10 minutes of arriving at the Belvedere Road hospital he decided to walk out.
An inquest into his death held by South Staffordshire Coroner Andrew Haigh heard that hospital staff and paramedics could not detain Mr Wagstaff against his will because he had the capacity to make his own decisions.
A family member told the inquest: “I want to understand why they thought he had capacity. It just baffles me.”
The hearing was told hospital staff were worried enough to call the police who launched a search for him.
Sadly, just a few hours later, Mr Wagstaff was found dead by a dog walker in a wooded area in Burton on May 18.
The inquest held on Wednesday, October 6, heard from Detective Constable Jason Hughes, from Staffordshire Police, who said there was no suspicion of third party involvement in Mr Wagstaff’s death.
He said on the day Mr Wagstaff died, he had seen police when he was formally interviewed over “sensitive matters” which the officer did not divulge at the hearing.
Then later, at around 4.30pm he told his YMCA support worker that he wanted to end his life. He was later put in touch with a mental health worker.
Paramedics were called and at around 5.05pm and he was taken to hospital. But he left the hospital after 10 minutes and the police were called.
At 7.18pm a dog walker called to say they had found a man, and Mr Wagstaff was later identified by police.
DC Hughes was asked by the coroner what he thought might have prompted Mr Wagstaff to take his own life and said it might have been “earlier contact with police and pressure of moving accommodation”.
Karen Hopley, of the Midland Partnership Foundation Trust, also gave evidence at the inquest.
She said Mr Wagstaff suffered with ADHD, Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD), anxiety and depression. He also suffered from arthritis and a trapped sciatic nerve. She also said he had taken cannabis and had experimented with amphetamines.
Ms Hopley said he had been sub
ject to a community intervention pathway since 2020, suffering with anxiety, agitation and voices in his head.
She said: “In September 2020 he took an overdose and agreed to hospital admission. After a week he presented with little to no depression, anxiety, mania or psychosis. He declined the offer of psychological intervention and was discharged in November 2020.
“In February 2021 he took an overdose of methadone but denied suicidal thoughts and said it had been impulsive.
“He had a consultation with consultant psychiatrist and said he could hear voices and that his anti-psychotic medication was not benefiting
him. His medication was reduced and he was to be reviewed on May 19.
“The day before [that review], on May 18, in the afternoon he contacted the trust’s admin team saying the only way out was to kill himself and that he had not taken his medication for three weeks.
“There would have been up to a four-hour response time to contact him back so the shift coordinator who took the call contacted the ambulance and he was taken to A&E.”
She added that the four-hour time is a standard response time the trust has to achieve in such cases, adding they would respond quicker if they were able to.
In summing up, Mr Haigh said: “He was a young man with mental health issues. Immediately prior to his death he had been living at the YMCA. On May 18 a lot is going on in his life. There were a lot of agencies involved but it does not prevent his death.
“Dean had been due to move accommodation and he was concerned about that.”
He later said: “The assessment from ambulance staff and other staff [at the hospital] is that he does have the capacity to leave and they cannot forcibly detain him.
“Despite contact with various agencies he has decided to kill himself but was affected by poor mental health at the time.”
Mr Haigh gave a cause of death as hanging and recorded a verdict that his death was suicide while mentally unwell.
Speaking after the inquest, a spokesman for the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Burton’s Queen’s Hospital, said: “Mr Wagstaff sadly left the hospital shortly after arriving against the wishes of our clinical team and they immediately contacted the police due to concerns for his welfare.
“We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family of Mr Wagstaff. We would be very happy to meet with Mr Wagstaff’s family to listen to their concerns.”