Man took his own life two months after being attacked
TWM WAS SENT ABUSIVE TEXT BY RELATIVE OF ATTACKERS
A KEEN sportsman took his own life two months after he was assaulted by two men, an inquest heard.
Twm Bryn, 21, a council road worker, had been assaulted by a father and son in a random attack outside the Venu club in Pwllheli in 2021, the inquest in Caernarfon heard last week.
The two men later admitted assault causing actual bodily harm.
A relative of the men also sent him an abusive text message and the police had urged him to report it.
But Mr Bryn said one investigation (against the father and son) was enough to handle.
Yesterday Eira Owen, a bank nurse, told the inquest that she had assessed Mr Bryn on the phone on September 7, 2021, around a month before his death.
Mr Bryn had suffered low mood for years following the death of his grandmother when he was 17.
But the nurse said she had been unaware of the assault on him “until recently”.
A nursing chief told the inquest a review found the “triggers” for Mr Bryn’s state of mind could have been “explored more fully”.
Farmer’s son Mr Bryn was found dead in a shipping container at the back of his home on Ty’n Rhos estate, Chwilog, on October 4, 2021.
Despite the efforts of his family, police and paramedics, he could not be saved.
During the inquest, heard before Sarah Riley, assistant coroner for North West Wales, nurse Ms Owen said Mr Bryn’s mood was low and flat and he said he would be “better off dead”.
But she told the inquest: “He didn’t mention the assault. I only became aware of the assault recently.”
The inquest heard Mr Bryn was referred for counselling but there was a waiting list of several months. Currently, it is four to six months.
Tom Regan, head of nursing for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in north west Wales, said a review of Mr Bryn’s case established that Mr Bryn said he would not act on the “better off dead” comment because he had a supportive family.
Mr Regan said: “The risk should have been explored in more detail in terms of triggers.
“However, it’s not clear that the severity of risk would have changed had the risk formation been completed fully.”
The review found Mr Bryn was prescribed medication which was appropriate on September 9, 2021 but that on September 16, 2021 Mr Bryn was sent a letter recommending counselling but it did not refer to a waiting list or how Mr Bryn’s case would be followed up by mental health services whilst waiting for (further) treatment.
Alberto Salmoiraghi, a BCUHB consultant psychiatrist, said that Mr Bryn “did not have any particular risk factors” when he was assessed - there were no repeated self-harm, alcohol or drug issues or financial problems and he was “healthy and sporty”.
But his mother Bethan Llwyd told Mr Salmoiraghi yesterday: “I saw a different picture.
“A one-off assessment is not an accurate interpretation of what’s going on.”
The inquest heard there are “chronic” staffing shortages at BCUHB but steps are being taken to deal with them.
Dr Salmoiraghi said: “We have some chronic staffing issues in the UK - it’s not particularly in North Wales. The west area is particularly affected - possibly because of geography.
“The eastern part of North Wales is in the vicinity of universities and north west England.”
Nursing levels are at 50 per cent and consultant psychiatry is at 35 per cent, he added.
But the inquest also heard a recruitment drive is in operation and senior practitioners in mental health are working in surgeries themselves which is improving patients’ access to services.
The assistant coroner said the cause of death was hanging, and gave a conclusion of suicide.
She said she has concerns about how patients such as Mr Bryn are cared for and will be sending a Prevention of Future Deaths report to BCUHB.
She said: “I am concerned by the lack of interim support for patients who are assessed as low mood and have to wait for counselling.”
She said BCUHB are expected to respond within 56 days.
Following his death, Mr Bryn’s mum called for the mental health impact of violent crimes to be incorporated into the criminal justice system.
In the aftermath of the assault, his mum said her son had become anxious, tearful and was struggling to sleep.