Investigation and inquest
On the 25th September 2015 I commenced an investigation into the death of Jason Derek Vaughan, 43. The investigation concluded at the end of the inquest on the 4th March 2016. The conclusion of the inquest was Suicide. The medical cause of death was hanging by the neck.
Circumstances of the death
1. Jason lived with his wife and young daughter at ████████
2. He had no history of suicide attempts but did suffer from anxiety and depression, which developed, in 2009, as a result of uncertainty over his employment, and which continued until the date of his death.
3. Jason sought assistance from his general practitioner and was also under the care of the local Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service.
4. Jason committed suicide, by hanging himself by the neck, at his home address, on 23rd September 2015.
5. An investigation into the Serious Incident (Ref. 2015/31212) was carried out by ████████ who gave evidence at the inquest.
Coroner’s concerns
(1) The effectiveness of the IAPT electronic patient clinical records system (SystemOne) may be limited, in some instances, by there being insufficient written narrative detail (eg. As to medication commencement dates, doses, changes etc.) to accompany the coded data entries in the drop down box selection
(2) The existing IAPT risk assessment tool utilises a numerical rating system which has, as its starting level 1, “things feel so bad that you think about killing yourself”, and which does not allow for the recording of a less threatening position, thereby not providing a means of reflecting a deterioration, is a patient's state of risk, over time, to the current Level 1 status.
(3) It may not be universally recognised by all mental health practitioners, that the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness (2015) has identified an increasing number of suicides amongst middle aged males and also socio-economic factors becoming increasingly common in suicides.