Reforming alcoholic Stephen Appleton - whose death hit the headlines when it was revealed his Bracknell GP told him to start drinking again because giving up was too dangerous - was badly let down by the NHS, a coroner and his partner said yesterday (June 19).

An inquest concluded that despite repeated attempts to get help on the road to recovery for his drinking and mental health problems, 51-year-old Mr Appleton did not receive the help he was entitled to.

His partner, Sandra Smith, said after the coroner concluded the death from hanging was suicide: "Stephen was let down by our local mental health service.

"He was depressed and anxious but sought help.

"However, after weeks of seeking help I believe he gave up hope when that help could not be found."

Berkshire assistant coroner Alison McCormick told the inquest that although finance expert Stephen was in contact with mental health and alcohol dependency services in the months before his death, he was not provided with counselling or detoxification.

"My concern remains that patients who are assessed at low risk of suicide or self harm will have no review or support during that time they are waiting for counselling.

"During that period of time their risk may increase and if it did, nobody would know," she said.

At an earlier hearing the coroner had been told that when Mr Appleton, who with his partner Sandra Smith, went to see his GP in Bracknell, he was told to ramp his drinking back up to six pints a day after he had managed to go "cold turkey" and abstain from alcohol for days.

Ms Smith said: "I was shocked and could not believe it.

"Dr Patel had told Stephen to start drinking again and taper off slowly in a controlled way.

"How could I control the drinking of a man who drank in secret?

“I believe the mental health services let us down and that the way they operate means that patients such as Stephen are not safe.

"I believe he could have been saved with the right treatment."

Concerned Coroner Ms McCormick commented that Stephen was not seen face-to-face by anyone in the mental health team over the months that he was seeking help.

Sandra said later: "Whilst Stephen was ill we sought help for him from his GP and from Berkshire mental health services.

"Despite repeated cries for help, he was only assessed over the phone and never seen by a qualified mental health professional face to face.

"We were passed from one person to the next."

Nicola Wainwright, who represented Ms Smith at the inquest, said: "It has been incredibly hard for Sandra to try to understand why, in her view, Stephen did not obtain the mental health treatment he needed, when he was trying his best to get help."

The inquest had heard earlier that Mr Appleton was a successful investment professional before being made redundant and making a career change to counselling people going through bankruptcy.

The inquest heard about the ill-fated journey he made through the the Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Deemed to be a low risk, he had meetings with Talking Therapies but he was told he would have to wait eight to 10 weeks for counselling. He died whilst waiting for these treatments, the coroner observed.

Concluding the inquest, Ms McCormick said: "I understand the trust wishes to act immediately on my concerns of Regulation 28 as a matter of urgency.

"However, my concern remains that patients who are assessed at low risk of suicide or self harm will have no review or support during that time they are waiting for counselling.

"During that period of time their risk may increase and if it did, nobody would know.

"In that period, patients are left simply to contact their GP, to contact the Crisis Team or be dependent on their family for support.

"It seems to me that there is no review for someone deemed to be a low risk in this waiting period, and if it is to fall to the GP, they need to be told about the situation.

"But they are not in themselves a mental health practitioner and it seems to me that this is passing the buck back to the General Practitioner whilst patients are on the waiting list."

The coroner ruled that Mr Appleton, from Bolton Road, Windsor, died as a result of suicide while suffering from mental illness and alcohol dependence.

Ms Smith said: "I believe Stephen was let down by our local mental health service.

"He was depressed and anxious but sought help. However, after weeks of seeking help I believe he gave up hope when that help could not be found.

"His symptoms started only about a year before his death.

"Before that he was full of life.

"He was loved by his family and friends and we loved him. He was charismatic, social and had a ‘just do it’ attitude. He loved travel and adventure – he raced cars and climbed mountains in Pakistan and South America. He ran marathons, enjoyed skiing and surfing.

"Whilst Stephen was ill we sought help for him from his GP and from Berkshire mental health services.

"Despite repeated cries for help he was never provided with the help he needed which I believe could have saved his life.

"He was only assessed over the phone and he was never seen by a qualified mental health professional face to face.

"We were passed from one person to the next and left to try to determine the right service for him. I believe that if Stephen had undergone a full face-to-face assessment the full nature and extent of his psychiatric illness would have been established.

"He was told help would come, but it did not.

"He was promised access to Talking Therapies, but the first appointment was two months away.

"Even when he was planning and rehearsing his method of killing himself and I was desperately trying to get help, no-one seemed overly concerned.

"No-one offered the help that Stephen and I needed there and then. We were still waiting for a call back, a Talking Therapies appointment and detoxification treatment when he took his own life. I believe that by then Stephen should have been admitted to hospital for his own safety.

“I know the coroner had no choice but to reach a conclusion of suicide but that one word could never tell the whole story.

"Our family has lost Stephen, the father and partner we loved and the person who supported us through everything.

"I believe he could have been saved with the right treatment. Instead, he was left suffering whilst his symptoms of paranoia, fear and false beliefs worsened.

"We will never come to terms with our loss.

“I am pleased that the Coroner conducted a thorough inquiry and set out her findings in detail.

"Her inquiry revealed that even when Stephen did mention he had thought of harming himself the mental health nurse he was speaking to did not ask any further questions to probe the nature and extent of Stephen’s thoughts.

"The coroner suggested that Stephen was not willing to open up but he was actively seeking help and I believe if he had been properly assessed he would have talked because he was desperate to get better.

"I believe the mental health services let us down and that the way they operate means that patients such as Stephen are not safe.

"The coroner made a Preventing Future Deaths Report with regards to the lack of support for patients like Stephen who have been recommended for treatment but have to wait to receive it.

"In Stephen’s case he was still waiting when he died. I agree this needs to change so that other patients do not suffer like Stephen did. Waiting two months for help is just not acceptable."