25 Nov 2022 Philip John BATTLE · Prevention of Future Deaths report Liverpool and the Wirral
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Concerns raised 4 Unavailability of commissioned mental-health crisis intervention resources View source Failure of ambulance triage to identify a person who could check the caller’s safety View source Failure of ambulance triage to assess presenting mental-health and self-harm risks View source Failure of ambulance, police and health services to coordinate and share mental-health crisis intervention resources View source See 1 more concern
No linked response statements No action or position from this recipient is clearly linked to the concerns in this report.
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AI-generated summary
Philip John BATTLE · Prevention of Future Deaths report
This summary was generated using AI from the published report. Please read the original report for the complete account.
Report summary
Philip John Battle died by suicide on 8 July 2022 after contacting the ambulance service about an overdose and an attempted hanging. The report raised concerns that the ambulance triage process focused on physical health rather than immediate mental-health and self-harm risks, and that no attempt was made to contact someone who could check on his safety. It also identified limited coordination and shared mental-health crisis resources between ambulance, police and health services.
Read the report on judiciary.uk
× Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Unavailability of commissioned mental-health crisis intervention resources
Wider context from the report “Evidence has been received that Philip Battle self-referred to the ambulance service stating he had taken an overdose and that he had tried to hang himself. The then triage system (medical priority dispatch) concentrated on questions relating to physical health such as his physiological function rather than assessing the actual presenting risks from poor mental health including self-inflicted fatal harm. Mr Battle lived in warden monitored sheltered accommodation and no inquiry was made about whether someone could be telephoned to check on his safety. Even if Mr Battle had not been in sheltered accommodation, it was unclear as to why there was no triage question about a phone number for a friend or relative. Evidence was given that NWAS work with Lancashire police and the health service in Blackpool with the Synergy project sharing the resources of a triage mental health car. These arrangements and relationships do not exist in Liverpool. The Court was concerned about silo - public health working between Blue light services - given the limited mental health intervention resource for NWAS was not on duty on the morning of 8th July and there was no call to Merseyside Police to see if its Mental Health triage car was available to intervene. Evidence was heard that these services need commissioning and there was no arrangement between Merseyside Police and the NWAS to share mental health intervention resources. This issue appears to become more important when the court heard of the plans for three mental health ambulances to be available in Merseyside and Cheshire in the near future.
The Court would like the ambulance service, Police and health providers to work together with the public funds at their respective disposal to develop in concert and to share community mental health crisis intervention resources for the good of the public.
” Open source report × Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Failure of ambulance triage to identify a person who could check the caller’s safety
Wider context from the report “Evidence has been received that Philip Battle self-referred to the ambulance service stating he had taken an overdose and that he had tried to hang himself. The then triage system (medical priority dispatch) concentrated on questions relating to physical health such as his physiological function rather than assessing the actual presenting risks from poor mental health including self-inflicted fatal harm. Mr Battle lived in warden monitored sheltered accommodation and no inquiry was made about whether someone could be telephoned to check on his safety . Even if Mr Battle had not been in sheltered accommodation, it was unclear as to why there was no triage question about a phone number for a friend or relative . Evidence was given that NWAS work with Lancashire police and the health service in Blackpool with the Synergy project sharing the resources of a triage mental health car. These arrangements and relationships do not exist in Liverpool. The Court was concerned about silo - public health working between Blue light services - given the limited mental health intervention resource for NWAS was not on duty on the morning of 8th July and there was no call to Merseyside Police to see if its Mental Health triage car was available to intervene. Evidence was heard that these services need commissioning and there was no arrangement between Merseyside Police and the NWAS to share mental health intervention resources. This issue appears to become more important when the court heard of the plans for three mental health ambulances to be available in Merseyside and Cheshire in the near future.
The Court would like the ambulance service, Police and health providers to work together with the public funds at their respective disposal to develop in concert and to share community mental health crisis intervention resources for the good of the public.
” Open source report × Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Failure of ambulance triage to assess presenting mental-health and self-harm risks
Wider context from the report “Evidence has been received that Philip Battle self-referred to the ambulance service stating he had taken an overdose and that he had tried to hang himself. The then triage system (medical priority dispatch) concentrated on questions relating to physical health such as his physiological function rather than assessing the actual presenting risks from poor mental health including self-inflicted fatal harm. Mr Battle lived in warden monitored sheltered accommodation and no inquiry was made about whether someone could be telephoned to check on his safety. Even if Mr Battle had not been in sheltered accommodation, it was unclear as to why there was no triage question about a phone number for a friend or relative. Evidence was given that NWAS work with Lancashire police and the health service in Blackpool with the Synergy project sharing the resources of a triage mental health car. These arrangements and relationships do not exist in Liverpool. The Court was concerned about silo - public health working between Blue light services - given the limited mental health intervention resource for NWAS was not on duty on the morning of 8th July and there was no call to Merseyside Police to see if its Mental Health triage car was available to intervene. Evidence was heard that these services need commissioning and there was no arrangement between Merseyside Police and the NWAS to share mental health intervention resources. This issue appears to become more important when the court heard of the plans for three mental health ambulances to be available in Merseyside and Cheshire in the near future.
The Court would like the ambulance service, Police and health providers to work together with the public funds at their respective disposal to develop in concert and to share community mental health crisis intervention resources for the good of the public.
” Open source report × Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Failure of ambulance, police and health services to coordinate and share mental-health crisis intervention resources
Wider context from the report “Evidence has been received that Philip Battle self-referred to the ambulance service stating he had taken an overdose and that he had tried to hang himself. The then triage system (medical priority dispatch) concentrated on questions relating to physical health such as his physiological function rather than assessing the actual presenting risks from poor mental health including self-inflicted fatal harm. Mr Battle lived in warden monitored sheltered accommodation and no inquiry was made about whether someone could be telephoned to check on his safety. Even if Mr Battle had not been in sheltered accommodation, it was unclear as to why there was no triage question about a phone number for a friend or relative. Evidence was given that NWAS work with Lancashire police and the health service in Blackpool with the Synergy project sharing the resources of a triage mental health car. These arrangements and relationships do not exist in Liverpool. The Court was concerned about silo - public health working between Blue light services - given the limited mental health intervention resource for NWAS was not on duty on the morning of 8th July and there was no call to Merseyside Police to see if its Mental Health triage car was available to intervene. Evidence was heard that these services need commissioning and there was no arrangement between Merseyside Police and the NWAS to share mental health intervention resources. This issue appears to become more important when the court heard of the plans for three mental health ambulances to be available in Merseyside and Cheshire in the near future.
The Court would like the ambulance service, Police and health providers to work together with the public funds at their respective disposal to develop in concert and to share community mental health crisis intervention resources for the good of the public.
” Open source report
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Information checked against published PFD reports and official responses · Data reviewed 7 Sep 2026 · About data quality and limitations