A dad has told of his agony after his talented son died while on leave from a mental health unit. James Bennett, 26, achieved four A* grades at Hopwood Hall College in Middleton and was awarded a scholarship at the University of Salford, before his mental health deteriorated in the second year.
An inquest at Rochdale Coroners' court heard James was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and sectioned under the Mental Health Act at Birch Hill hospital, Rochdale, in September 2021. On February 6, he was granted unescorted leave.
Just after 6pm, he was seen on CCTV walking down the train line at a nearby station, where he took his own life.
James' devastated father Delroy said he believed steroid abuse played a significant role in the rapid deterioration of his son's mental health. The dad-of-six told the Manchester Evening News his eldest son Dale, 30, died 10 years ago following a seizure.
"I'm in absolute bits," he told the M.E.N. "My family has been through so much stress.
"James just had a desire to win and to succeed, he was so focused and determined. He went from being one of the worst performers at school to one of the highest achievers at college. He was so good at sport, he just had that competitive edge.
"But when he started abusing steroids came in it all went downhill from there. I confronted him about it and said that it messes with you and I had seen it do bad things to people, but we couldn't do anything, he became really ill at that point.
"I believe that if he could have got through this - and off medication - he could have been really successful, that's just who he was. If he put his mind to something he would achieve it, he was that determined. I was always so proud of what he did in his sport and then his school, he was such a high achiever."
James, the inquest heard, moved down south and joined the Army. He had to leave due to his mental health, before being sectioned and cared for at a hospital in Stevenage. He then moved to Birch Hill in September 2021.
The inquest - heard over two days in front of a jury - was told that between October 2021 until his death, James had been granted unescorted leave over a dozen times. Consultant psychiatrist at Birch Hill Dr Qasim Faiz, told the hearing James appeared to stabilise with medication during his time at the hospital.
But a court hearing he had to attend in December and January caused him extra anxiety. James expressed 'feelings of hopelessness and suicidal ideations', the inquest heard.
His leave was postponed in mid-January, but after the court case on January 24, he was described as being better by Dr Faiz, with his leave reinstated soon after. On February 6, Kames approached the ward manager and asked for leave, which was granted as his presentation that day had been positive.
Dr Faiz said James had been planning for the future and was seeking help with getting a passport, indicating that his mental health was improving.
James travelled to a nearby train station and took his own life on February 6, something which was 'very, very unexpected', Dr Faiz said. Investigations after James' death found that in the days prior to February 6 he had been researching websites related to suicide, something the hospital was unaware of.
Cheryl Henry, head of quality at Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, told the inquest that while lessons have been learned - such as more thorough risk assessments being carried - it was not the wrong decision to grant James leave based on his presentation that day.
The jury delivered a conclusion of suicide. Jurors also concluded that the trust 'acted appropriately'.
Delroy said his loved ones have been through 'unbelievable stress', adding: "What we've been through is absolutely terrible, no one should have to go through that."
Clare Parker, executive director of quality, nursing and healthcare professionals at Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We extend our deepest condolences to James’s family at this difficult time. We conducted a review at the time of James’s death which involved and has been shared with his family.
"The inquest found that we acted appropriately in allowing leave, but we recognise there are lessons to be learnt and we are making improvements. Action has been to taken to improve the completion of risk assessments, communication with family members and improve one-to-one activities to engage with patients on our wards.”
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