St Pancras Coroner’s Court

THE mother of a young banker who took his own life after trying to find support said she hopes that health authorities will review how they work.

Sion Mullane, 27, had sought help at the St Pancras Hospital crisis team but his case de-escalated to the care of his GP before his death in June, St Pancras Coroner’s Court heard.

An inquest was told how Mr Mullane had moved back to Upper Holloway to be with his wife after finding the coronavirus lockdown stressful whilst living in San Francisco for work.

Mr Mullane was taken to Whittington Hospital on June 1 after being found at home in a bad condition after the attempt to take his own life. He died four days later.

The court heard how Mr Mullane registered at a GP practice in May after returning to the UK.

Coroner Dr Richard Brittain said: “He had been in lockdown with a friend for several weeks prior to his return to the UK which he felt had led to a deterioration of his mental health.”

A senior nurse assessed Mr Mullane and a referral was made to the Islington Crisis Resolution team.

However, there was no reference of a previous suicidal episode he had described and Mr Mullane was subsequently discharged from the service and ‘deescalated’ to the GP.

His mother Delyth Mullane could be seen shaking her head whilst listening to evidence at the inquest earlier this month.

She said: “Surely if you have somebody who has presented with suicidal thoughts and the fact he had thought about it three weeks earlier, to just discharge him to a GP… I find it really, really hard. I am struggling with that.”

Ms Mullane added: “I do feel like they need to review some of their policies and their staff training so that it doesn’t happen again.”

Simon Peel, Operational Service Manager at the Royal Free Hospital and UCLH, told the inquest: “A very calm individual who probably realises there’s a possibility they might be under the Mental Health Act at some point or brought to hospital and start masking what is going on underneath… we can be limited in what we are capable of doing.”

Mr Peel added: “He was able to manage his thoughts and seek help. Without knowing what’s going on under the surface it’s quite difficult to take it any further.”

Coroner Dr Richard Brittain amended his cause of death with depression as a contributory factor after hearing the findings.

He said he would not write a Prevention of Future Deaths Report at this stage, a power available to coroners to instruct authorities to review or change practices, but would keep the case under review.

The C&I has made recommendations after their own internal investigation in relation to staff training and an understanding of referral processes.

Anyone struggling is urged to call the Samaritans who offer free and confidential advice during times of crisis. You can contact them at any time on 116 123.