A friend of a 33-year-old man who had been sectioned but reportedly allowed to leave after two hours says he 'might still be alive' if he'd been kept in hospital.
Liam King, from Porth in Mid-Glamorgan, Wales took his own life after struggling with mental health issues for seven years following the death of his father.
He had attempted to take his own life on a number of occasions and was eventually sectioned for his own safety. However, he left the mental health unit after two hours. Six days later he was dead.
Liam's good friend Lisa-Marie Norris said he went through phases of feeling very low and then things would get better for a while, reports Wales Online.
One of those phases started at the end of April this year. Over the course of two to three weeks police were called around five times to look for him following concerns for his welfare. Twice in that time his friend Lisa-Marie Norris talked him down off a bridge.
On the second occasion Lisa said she and police officers took Liam to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital to be sectioned.
"I remember feeling a sense of relief: 'We are finally going to do something'," Lisa said. But Liam spent just two hours at the mental health unit before he messaged Lisa to say he was on his way home. Six days later, on May 3, she found him dead.
"When I got home and had a message to say he was on his way home I thought I could not believe this. When I left I said to them: 'Either you keep him in or he kills himself'," Lisa said.
Lisa explained that on the morning that Liam's body was found he didn't show up for work as a window cleaner. By 10pm on that Wednesday Lisa received a phone call from Liam's boss to check if she had heard from him.
When she said she hadn't Lisa went to Liam's house. She didn't get an answer and peered through the door and was devastated to see his body.
She said in the days before his death things had looked like they were getting better for Liam . He had started to talk more positively and had been out for his usual Tuesday evening playing pool.
Lisa said: "I honestly think if they had kept him in [hospital] that night he would still be here."
She is sharing what happened, with the permission of Liam's family, in the hope that they can prevent it from happening to anyone else and to ensure there is an investigation into the care that he received.
Liam's mother, Suzanne Samuel, described how her son's depression started seven years ago when his father died. She said: "He has not been right since his dad died. His dad had a brain aneurysm on the way to work. He was on life-support and we had to turn him off. But we had no support after that. He was not right after that.
"I would tell him he needed to see the doctor and try counselling. He said: 'I don't want to take tablets.' He thought there was nothing there to help him."
When Suzanne was told that Liam had been taken to the crisis team she said she was worried but relieved. The next day when he was home and she spoke to him he shared with her that staff had told him he "can't cope with his emotions" and recommended he take antidepressants. Suzanne doesn't know if he was prescribed any.
She added: "How can they assess someone in an hour or two when that someone doesn't want to talk about it?"
Suzanne explained that up until he died every time Liam attempted to take his own life he had told someone what he was going to do. On the occasion he died he didn't tell anyone.
"He had left bowls of food around the house for his dog. He had taken off his pool presentation top and folded it and put it away," she said. Suzanne has been told by the coroner that police found notes at his address but at this point she doesn't know what they said.
Suzanne added: "I spoke to him on Tuesday night and he sounded quite happy. He said he had his pool presentation and he had been looking forward to that. He said he had to go because someone was ringing him and I said to him: 'You sound happy tonight' and he said: 'I am, love you.'
"He was such a lovely boy. So sensitive and quiet – he only said something if there was something to say. He was just lovely. I have three children – my eldest son used to say: 'He’s your golden child.' He was always Mammy’s boy.
"On my birthday he would come from work – he always had a bunch of flowers for me. ‘Happy birthday Mam, love you’. That is the last thing he said to me was 'love you'.
"He lived for his pool and his job – he loved his job. [His nieces and nephews] loved him – they called him uncle Lum. When he was in school he did this drawing of a wizard. The children had to draw what they wanted to be when they grew up and he drew a wizard. We used to tease him: 'When are you going to be a wizard Liam?'
"He was hell of a boy. It is tragic for every family it happens to because they turn people away."
Suzanne said that a few years ago one of Liam's friends who was helping him through his depression also took their own life. Liam was devastated as he had no idea his friend was also suffering.
Suzanne said: "I can understand [the NHS] have not got the resources – they don't have enough money. They haven't got the staff, I understand that, but there should be more there for those people. You can't turn people away for them to then kill themselves. I do realise it is not their fault but there should be more."
A funeral for Liam was held in Penrhys on Friday, May 26, where he was buried in his denim jacket alongside his father.
Lisa says she used to tell him jokingly: "We'll bury you in that denim jacket."
A fundraiser has been set up to help support the family with the funeral costs. You can make a donation here. Lisa added that Liam used to have a pool table in his living room which they are hoping to donate to Paddy's in Tonypandy where a memorial plaque will be placed in his honour.
A spokesman for Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB said: “As appropriate, and to ensure we understand the facts of this case, the health board has begun a review into the care that was provided to Liam. Our thoughts are with his family at this very sad time.”
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