If You Think There is a Risk Then Why on Earth Are You Releasing Him?

From the Derby Evening Telegraph

A Transcript reveals how a doctor was warned by a police inspector about the risk of releasing a patient who threatened to torch his house - 24 hours before he set himself on fire and died.

It shows Inspector Alison Dando telling psychiatrist Dr Raj Sinha that, if anything happened to Andrew Whetton, "it would look bad on the health authority".

The 48-year-old begged to be kept in hospital and threatened to set fire to his house but was released from the mental health unit.

The next day, he covered his clothes in petrol and set them alight while in a car with his partner of 25 years, Julie Croft, in Marston Lane, Hatton.

Coroner Dr Robert Hunter recorded a verdict of suicide at the end of a two-day inquest yesterday.

However, he said the fact Mr Whetton was not given a mental health examination by a senior psychiatrist after the suicide threat was a "contributing factor in his death".

Dr Sinha rang police to let them know Mr Whetton was being released.

After a recording of the call Dr Sinha made to police was played in court, he said: "Too much pressure was coming to me at that time. It was not an ideal situation.

"We do not have a machine to say what this patient will do."

[...]

Dr Robert Rowlands, an independent psychiatrist asked to look at Mr Whetton's medical notes, also questioned the decision not to carry out an assessment.

He said: "People being agitated to the point of pleading on their knees - that's an unusual level of agitation. If you have ended up on a psychiatric ward, you are a high risk.

"Dr Gupta did not actually review the patient himself. That would have been the prudent thing to do."

The inquest heard how Mr Whetton could not be sectioned under the Mental Health Act as he wanted to stay in hospital.

Summing up, the coroner said: "Mr Whetton was agitated, he fell to his knees pleading with staff not to discharge him. The team were collectively concerned to inform the psychiatrist, but no formal examination was made. The consultant psychiatrist did not see him. As a result of that decision, it was agreed he should be sent on home leave. I find that this was a contributing factor in Mr Whetton's death."