Man killed himself after seeking help at Brooker Centre
AMUSICIAN from Runcorn took his own life just over a week after he turned up at a mental health hospital seeking help, an inquest heard.
Anthony Maddock, 44, described by his parents as ‘big-hearted’ and a ‘lovely lad’ turned up at the Brooker Centre in Runcorn on July 10 last year after he had been missing for three days.
An inquest in Warrington heard Mr Maddock, of Dorrington Close, Brookvale, was found hanged on Red Brow Lane in Daresbury on July 20.
His parents had reported him missing to the police after Anthony had been gone for hours having said he was going for a jog.
Police ruled out foul play and found no evidence of suspicious circumstances.
A post mortem examination found no injuries other than to his neck where he was suspended and toxicology tests found no evidence that alcohol or drugs had played a part.
Lorna Green, who carried out an investigation for North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NWBH) following his death, told the inquest that Mr Maddock had selfpresented and that it was not trust practice to admit patients without an appointment, ‘potentially due to the lack of resources’.
She said that a practitioner spoke to Mr Maddock and at that time he did not want to be admitted, nor was it deemed necessary.
She said his parents were called and agreed to take him home with a plan for someone to contact him the next day.
Mrs Green added that her investigation did not find that the non-admittance was a factor in his death.
Victor Maddock, Anthony’s father, said he and his wife had struggled to cope with their son’s condition and were ‘shocked’ that Anthony had been ‘turned away’.
He said: “That day he had been missing for three days.
“He turned up looking for help and he was basically turned away.
“That was a shock to us. “He was suicidal.
“So why didn’t you take him in? He was suicidal.
“He wanted medication.”
He added: “Me and the wife were going through hell, we didn’t know what to do.
“If you took him in, we think he would still be alive today.”
Heath Westerman, acting coroner for Cheshire, read medical evidence to the court including from his wife Sarah Maddock that said Mr Maddock had suffered long-term depression, anxiety and had a provisional diagnosis of possible of bi-polar disorder.
In the weeks prior to his death he had sunk into severe depression after the break-up of his marriage and losing his job.
This had followed a spell of feeling energised, presumed to be due to a reaction to his medication.
In the past he had made threats against his own life on multiple occasions.
Mrs Green said that after Anthony attended the Brooker Centre without an appointment on July 11, a mental health practitioner tried to contact Mr Maddock on July 11 but there was no answer and there was no evidence of any further effort to contact him.
This was recorded in the mental health practitioner’s diary but not the shared notes system so there was no trigger to make further efforts to contact him.
A letter offering an appointment had also been sent to his former address and not to his parents’ home where he had moved following the separation from his wife.
The system was not updated despite Anthony’s general practitioner having informed the Brooker Centre.
She said improvements are brought in across the trust to incorporate the lessons learned from Anthony’s tragic death and to make the system ‘more robust’.
Victor Maddock said Anthony would sometimes go missing because he did not want to upset his parents, who found his condition difficult to deal with.
He said that was why Anthony was ‘scared’, as Mrs Green put it, of going home.
Anthony was born in Chester and worked as a part-time caretaker and musician.
Mr Westerman recorded a conclusion that Anthony Maddock took his own life on July 20.
In a statement issued after the inquest, John Heritage, NWBH chief operating officer, said: “I would like to offer my sincere condolences to Anthony’s family.
“A comprehensive investigation took place immediately after Anthony’s death and changes have been made to strengthen our processes around keeping patient records up-to-date.
“We are committed to supporting people with the best care in line with their assessed need, either in the community or within a hospital setting. This decision is based on an assessment by a qualified mental health professional.
“We would always encourage anyone who needs help to contact their GP or our mental health assessment team.
“We are developing clear guidance for our teams to follow if someone attends our hospital sites and needs mental health support to make sure they are able to access our 24-hour assessment team services.”
Speaking after the inquest, Victor Maddock remembered his son as a ‘lovely lad’.
He said: “He was a lovely lad who would do anything for anybody.
“He would help anybody.
“He was supposed to be doing a charity fair for Mind at The Heath offices.
“He used to go and take a friend out suffering the same thing as him and take him for walks.
“That’s the kind of person he was, a goodhearted lad. He said he never had a friend in the world but when he died hundreds turned up.”