A victim of a random attack outside a Welsh nightclub took his own life weeks later while waiting to access counselling, an inquest has heard. Twm Bryn, 21, was found dead in a shipping container at the back of his home in Chwilog on October 4, 2021.
The hearing at Caernarfon Coroners’ Court on Wednesday, February 15, heard how Mr Bryn had been set upon randomly by a father and son at Venu club in Pwllheli, NorthWalesLive reports. The two men admitted assault causing actual bodily harm, while a relative of the men also sent Mr Bryn an abusive message which he didn’t report because he felt he had too much going on with the ongoing case.
The court heard from witnesses who reported Mr Bryn had been presenting as suffering from a low mood. Such was their concern that he had been referred for counselling sessions but the waiting list remains several months long and he died before he received any counselling support.
Nurse Eira Owen told the hearing how she had spoken to Mr Bryn on the phone on September 7, 2021, to assess him. Ms Owen explained how Mr Bryn had appeared low and had said he thought he would be “better off dead”.
Tom Regan, head of nursing at the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said Mr Bryn had told medics he would not act on his comment “better off dead” because he had a supportive family. Mr Regan said in hindsight “the risk should have been explored in more detail in terms of triggers”.
Alberto Salmoiraghi, a health board consultant psychiatrist, told the hearing Mr Bryn didn’t have any risk factors when he was assessed. He described Mr Bryn as “healthy and sporty”.
Mr Bryn’s mother, Bethan Llwyd, told the hearing that she saw “a different picture”. “A one-off assessment is not an accurate interpretation of what is going on,” she said. In the aftermath of the assault, his mum said her son had become anxious, tearful and was struggling to sleep.
Dr Salmoraghi said the health board was suffering from a “chronic” shortage of staff and was operating a significant recruitment drive. "We have some chronic staffing issues in the UK - it's not particularly in North Wales,” he explained. “The west area is particularly affected - possibly because of geography. The eastern part of North Wales is in the vicinity of universities and north west England." Nursing levels were at 50 per cent and consultant psychiatry was at 35 per cent, Dr Salmoraghi added.
Assistant Coroner for north west Wales, Sarah Riley, issued a formal conclusion of suicide. Ms Riley added that she had concerns about how patients such as Mr Bryn were cared for and would be sending a Prevention of Future Deaths report to the health board. She said: "I am concerned by the lack of interim support for patients who are assessed as low mood and have to wait for counselling."
Following his death, Mr Bryn's mum called for the mental health impact of violent crimes to be incorporated into the criminal justice system.
“The mental health impacts of these types of incidents are not measured by law,” she said. “This needs to change. As well as actual bodily harm, victims can suffer actual mental harm, as we saw with Twm. These days there is a huge focus on mental health as we become more aware of the effect it can have on society. So it’s only right that the mental health impacts of assaults are given equal weighting to their physical impacts. If people can be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress – which is what Twm suffered – it should be possible to incorporate this into the criminal charges that people face.”
For confidential support the Samaritans can be contacted for free around the clock 365 days a year on 116 123.
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