Tag: Depression

07 the decision-maker

Posted on
The coroner concluded
at the end of the inquest:
‘The anxiety and depression
were long term problems
but the intense anxiety
was caused by his recent assessment
by the Department
as being fit for work
and his view
of the likely consequences.’
A former orthopaedic surgeon
employed by the contractor
had carried out the assessment,
concluding that he
was ‘at no significant risk
by working.’
The decision-maker
did not request
any reports or letters
from his doctor
his psychiatrist
or his clinical psychiatrist
had failed to ask him
if he had suicidal thoughts.
Six months later
he took his own life.

[Disability News Service, 02/12/2019, DWP: The Case for the Prosecution]

10 uncontrolled, uncontrollable or life threatening

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He quit his job in 2007
after becoming severely ill:
depression
anxiety.
He rarely left his home, refused
to talk to friends and relatives
or answer the door or phone
often spent days
in the same room.
He lived off his savings for two years
until his money ran out.
In early 2009
he finally began talking again
to his father and step-mother.
They persuaded him to apply for support.
He was assessed by a doctor employed
by a government contractor.
The doctor concluded
there was ‘no evidence
to suggest that the client’s health condition
due to their depression
is uncontrolled,
uncontrollable or life
threatening.’
He asked the Department to reconsider
as this disagreed wildly
with the opinion of his doctor
his psychiatric nurse
and his psychiatrist.
He found out
in January 2010
the Department agreed
with its earlier decision.
Although he began
the next stage of the process –
an independent appeal –
a few days later
his body was found.

[Disability News Service, 02/12/2019, DWP: The Case for the Prosecution]

17 when questioned afterwards

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When questioned afterwards
the assessor claimed he couldn’t remember
if he had made any phone calls
to their son’s doctor or psychiatrist
for information about his mental health.
‘He reports self harm
in the past.
He reports he attempted an overdose
six weeks ago;
he would not say
what he took.
He reports he has had no thoughts
of suicide since.
The evidence overall suggests
he is not at substantial risk.’
The decision
was confirmed in a letter.
A month later
he took his own life.
His father said his son’s mental health
had deteriorated in the last couple of years
but he had previously been able to work intermittently
in agriculture
and labouring.
His final job was cleaning buses.
He was taking strong medication
anti-psychotics,
anti-depressants,
was experiencing
paranoid delusions.
His father said
‘his mind was gone’
He remembers finding his son’s assessment report
and his other official paperwork
scattered over the floor of his flat
after he died.
Several weeks later
Department officials
visited the family.
‘They said
“I don’t suppose it will help now
but we have reversed the decision.”’

[Disability News Service, 02/12/2019, DWP: The Case for the Prosecution]

20 and her coat and purse

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She walked out of the home she shared with her boyfriend
some time after midnight.
She had battled depression for a number of years,
had taken a turn for the worse
after receiving a letter
telling her she had to be assessed
to see if she was fit
to return to work.
Her mobile phone
was found discarded
on a bench in the park.
And her coat and purse
in the river.

[Chronicle Live, 26/02/2013, Body found in River Wear is Leanne Chambers]

28 every 18 months

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He was celebrating getting a new job at a warehouse;
outside the nightclub
he was approached by five men.
One of them
struck him with a wheel brace
on the head.
Spinal damage
he cannot walk farther than a few yards.
Asthma, depression, panic attacks;
he spends most of his time in bed.
Every 18 months
he has to undergo an assessment
by the Department.
Last month,
he was told
he was no longer entitled
to any support,
after two doctors
asked him to stand up
and walk around his living room.

[The Sentinel, 21/04/2010, Dad left for dead in attack has benefits cut after 14 years]

31 when this also failed, she walked

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One of the first officers to arrive at the scene
noted evidence of a poor attempt
to clean up the mess;
watered-down blood in the kitchen.
Officers noted how her husband had blood on his clothes.
His brother, who received a call at work
urging him to rush round to the house,
had dirt on his hands.
Both men were arrested
but cleared of any involvement;
close examinations of the pattern of blood
ruled out foul play.
Her husband had woken up to find her missing.
He discovered an empty packets of painkillers,
blood,
a note.
She had been worrying about a meeting she was due to have
to discuss her entitlement to disability benefits.
Her health problems meant she had to give up
her job at the bakery. She was described
as cheerful, hardworking and trusted.
Her husband’s model shop had recently collapsed,
plunging the couple into financial difficulties.
They were forced to sell her childhood home.
It was likely
she had walked to the shed to fetch craft knives
in order to cut herself
after finding a serrated kitchen knife
was not sharp enough.
When this also failed, she walked to the Drain –
fifteen minutes from the couple’s home –
where her body was found.
She had died of drowning,
more than ten self-inflicted cuts
on her wrists.

[Hull Daily Mail (via Black Triangle Campaign), 12/07/2011, Woman who drowned in drain was upset about health check]

32 his doctor would have told them

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He had stated in the assessment form
that he had problems:
anxiety
depression.
He was unable to cope
with either support workers
or help from his family.
Because of the severity of his panic attacks
the assessment was carried out
at the cottage where he lived
alone.
His mother says he was unaware
of the purpose of the assessment
she said
neither the assessor
nor the Department
made any attempt to secure
evidence about his health.
His doctor would have told them
that he was unable to work.
The doctor told the inquest
he had visited him in extreme distress
a short time after his benefits were stopped.
The doctor handed him a note
explaining that he was extremely unwell
and completely unfit for work.
The note does not appear to have reached his local Jobcentre.
He did not take his own life, though;
four months after his benefits were stopped
he starved to death.

[Disability News Service, 02/12/2019, DWP: The Case for the Prosecution]

39 starting from zero again

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A note was discovered on his computer
by his parents,
detailing exactly
how and when
he planned
to take his own life.
He was 28,
autistic,
diagnosed with depression.
The Department ordered him
to attend a work capability assessment.
He refused.
The Department decided
to terminate his benefits,
his only source of income.
Six years ago
he told his social workers
he did not wish to have contact
with his family.
His parents had battled to see him since
but were forbidden from knowing
where he lived.
He had previously gone
voluntarily
to the acute inpatient mental health unit
in the town where he lived
after being told about the assessment.
He was reluctant to ask for help again.
‘If I am accepted,
I will have to stay up to 28 days
or six months
in a boring and cramped environment
surrounded
by very damaged people. After which
it will be determined
that I no longer need treatment
and will be allowed to leave.
I will likely be homeless,
starting from zero again,
and the vicious cycle
will begin anew.’
Social services closed his case
after he failed to respond to letters.
The note revealed
he made three separate attempts
to hang himself
between 2016 and 2018.
He wrote:
‘Each time I failed with panic.’
He wrote:
‘I cannot be bothered to fight this
any more. I am
out of energy. I only exist
to do what I want to do.
Dealing with paperwork,
making phone calls, feeling
anxious
every day
about whether I am going to be homeless
are things I do not want to do.’
His body was discovered
in an advanced state of decomposition
nine months later
when housing association officials
called to evict.

[Milton Keynes Citizen, 16/09/2019, Autistic Milton Keynes man left suicide note on computer explaining tragic reasons he took his own life; Milton Keynes Citizen, 02/12/2020, ‘Our son’s tragic loss of life could have been avoided’, say parents of autistic Milton Keynes man whose death went unnoticed for nine months]

40 a decision was taken

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His daughter received a text
and immediately knew something was wrong.
The decision was taken
despite being told by his doctor
he was too sick to return to his job.
(He had been a painter and decorator.)
He had suffered from anxiety and depression
for six years. He also had
breathing problems
caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The Department had written to him
a year earlier
requesting a consultation in July.
Four days before the medical
he attended his doctor’s surgery
in a state of panic.
He was declared fit to work.
Following the decision
he lodged an appeal
but it was rejected.
His support was stopped in November.
December. His daughter had been planning
to help him take his case to a tribunal,
but she had had to leave him
to go Christmas shopping
and to pick up her children,
when she received the text.
‘I love you.’
She found him
and performed CPR
before calling an ambulance.
Three days later
a decision was taken
to turn off his life support.

[Inews, 06/06/2019, Chronically ill father died by suicide after DWP declared him fit to work and cut his benefits]

41 a second, unopened letter

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She received a letter
from the Department
saying she should go back to work.
She suffered chronic breathlessness,
pulmonary disease,
depression;
she was a recovering methadone addict.
The letter also told her
her incapacity benefit
would be stopped.
She was so distressed
she took a cocktail of drugs.
She recovered
after treatment in hospital.
She regretted trying to take her own life
and vowed to fight the decision.
She died two days later.
A suicide note had been left in a sealed envelope
some medication was around the floor.
A post-mortem examination revealed
she only had a small amount of drugs in her system –
mostly from the suicide attempt
two days previously.
The coroner was satisfied
that she died
of natural causes.
After her body was found
a second, unopened letter
was also discovered
indicating she would not
lose her benefit after all.

[Evening Standard, 14/08/2013, Suicide bid of woman who feared losing her incapacity benefit]

42 down the stairs, fussing

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Two years after his wife’s death,
her widower was visited
by the husband of his niece.
‘I went in the back door.
The dog came flying
down the stairs, fussing.
He must have been in the room with him.’
He had suffered depression
following his wife’s death.
‘I went upstairs. I had
an awful feeling.
I put my head round the door.
I could see him lying at the side of the bed.
His face was straight down and
I just knew.’
Police officers searched the home;
empty packets of insulin.
An officer found a draft text message on his phone.
It gave the name of his niece.
It said, ‘I’m so sorry,
I hope you can forgive me one day.’

[Hull Daily Mail, 16/05/2013, Man found dead after wife drowned in Holderness Drain]

46 23 minutes

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The inquest,
which lasted two days,
heard that his medical assessment
took just 23 minutes.
He suffered from HIV,
hepatitus,
sciatica,
severe depression, insomnia,
dental pain.
He had a history of self-harm,
which stemmed from abuse
as a child.
His benefits
of ninety pounds a week
were stopped
on September eighteenth.
That same day
he went online.
After writing of his disapproval
of the system
he wrote
‘It’s time to say goodbye,
goodbye.’
On September twenty-fifth
(cocktail of drugs:
heroin,
cocaine
alcohol)
he was found dead in his house.

[Nottingham Post (via Internet Archive), 09/10/2013, Sneinton man overdoses after benefits stopped]

56 until the money ran out

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His family only pieced together his predicament
after discovering a repossession order
in the bin.
He had lived in the house all his life.
The order,
dated 13 September 2013,
gave him ten days to leave.
He suffered from mental health problems
including agoraphobia.
He had worked
as an assistant sales manager
in the 80s but
after leaving
he failed to find further employment.
Depression
and a suicide attempt
followed;
1989, an overdose
which damaged his vision.
(He was registered as partially blind
in 1994.)
After this he never worked again.
‘He was never extravagant,
didn’t go on holiday,
never had a car,’
his sister said.
His benefits were stopped in December 2012
after an assessment
found him fit for work.
‘He couldn’t ask for help.
He didn’t want to be a burden on anyone.’
Relatives believe he lived off his savings
until the money ran out.
It was his sister who found his body,
two days before the eviction date,
hanging in his hallway.

[Stourbridge News, 26/12/2013, Disabled Kinver man killed himself after being left “almost destitute” when his state benefits were axed]

57 how all seemed normal

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In a statement read by the Coroner’s Officer,
her husband of 36 years
told how all seemed normal
when he went to work,
but when he returned home
the following morning
with their son
his wife was in the back room, lying half
on the bed.
They phoned 999.
The operator talked them through CPR
until the parademics arrived.
She had been unable to work for about ten years
due to a dengerative back disease.
She had depression for about five years.
She had started suffering from stomach pains
and had also been extremely upset
due to a tribunal regarding her incapacity benefit
which had taken from her.
The pathologist who carried out the post-mortem
said she had eight times the lethal dose
of dothiepin, a prescribed anti-depressant,
and four times the dose of propanolol,
a beta-blocker
which stabilises the heart,
in her system.
He also found codeine and paracetamol
in her body.
The coroner said
‘Her husband had gone
to work,
she was alone.
Things must have just
swept over her,
suddenly
she found her life
intolerable.’

[Blackpool Gazette, 09/12/2008, Back problems led to fatal dose; via Web Archive at 19/04/2016]

62 stop worrying

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You are a fucking bitch”: a man’s voice.
Then the sound of violent banging,
a woman’s sobs.
Officers were on the way;
sobbing and breathing heavily,
she said the man had retreated.
Police arrived and arrested him.
She had opened her window.
If the man had succeeded in getting through the door
she was prepared to jump two floors to escape.
The woman was calling from her bedroom.
She had been placed in ‘exempt’ supported housing
after leaving prison –
a five-year term for serious fraud and deception.
She had a history of mental illness:
suicide attempts, spells in psychiatric hospitals.
She had been the victim of violent abuse
at the hands of a former partner:
twice he had fractured her skull;
marks on her arms; burn scars
snaking across her chest,
where he had set her on fire
while she slept.
The man hammering on her door that night
was a troubled alcoholic with demons of his own.
He was under
a suspended prison sentence
for making threats with a machete.
Police ultimately did not bring charges against him –
a result of conflicting versions of events that night.
“Officers attended the address just after midnight
and arrested a man.
It was alleged he had
been verbally aggressive to the woman,
made threats, and
damaged the door to her room.
The woman was not injured.
The man was later released without charge;
the property owner said
the damage to the door
was already there.
He would not support
a prosecution.”
A Probation Service spokesperson said
“Prisoners released without somewhere to live
are 50 per cent more likely to reoffend.
Providing basic accommodation on release
helps cut crime and make
our streets safer.”
The man was moved to another property.
Exempt accommodation: supported housing
funded through a higher rate of housing benefit, exempt
from caps applied to normal housing.
Prison leavers, rough sleeper, refugees and migrants,
substance abusers, people with mental health issues,
disabilities, people at risk of homelessness:
strangers
housed together, mostly left
to their own devices, with arms-length help
amounting to an hour or so of dedicated support a week;
a support worker
at the end of a mobile phone.
She has lost weight and become more ill;
thefts were so common
she now stored her kitchen pans and cutlery in her bedroom.
She described a fellow resident:
he had not been out of his pyjamas or had a wash
for five weeks; he kept her awake all night.
Access is via a steel staircase.
Inside, the corridors and shared kitchen and common room
are monitored by CCTV with audio mics;
private conversations may be listened to.
Bedrooms are small.
A hole burnt in the kitchen top,
rusted hobs. The common area and kitchen
are full of the belongings of one of the tenants;
crudely written notices in felt tip
on stereo, tv, kitchen gear:
‘hands off’.
Heating comes from plugged in storage heaters.
In the night it’s freezing.
“I eat two sausages and vegetables every night,
cereal in the morning.
I don’t drink, don’t take drugs, yet
it’s all around.
Nobody seems to do anything much about it.”
At her lowest point she tried to jump in front of a train.
She was pulled back at the last minute;
another spell in psychiatic hospital.
“While living here
suicide is the only thing
that goes through my head,
day in,
day out.
The owners say I am too much hard work for them,
they said
they didn’t have problems
before I moved in.
It’s not a great place to be.
The landlord told me
‘just ignore it’, stop worrying
about other people.”

[Birmingham Live, 25/09/2021, Chaos, fear and suicide attempts – life inside ‘exempt’ housing in Birmingham]