An army veteran whoy took his own life spent years trying to receive support for his undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after fighting in the war in Afghanistan. Jonathan "Jonny" Cole, from Ironville in Derbyshire, was in the military from 1997 until 2013, when he was medically discharged.
After serving 16 years in the Armed Forces he was officially discharged due to hearing loss. The father of three also suffered from PTSD due to being part of a quick reaction force whose job was to recover the bodies or body parts of fallen comrades.
Then, Mr Cole was left hospitalised in the UK after he was involved in a rocket-propelled grenade attack. Following the trauma caused by the incidents, Mr Cole developed PTSD. However, he was never officially diagnosed whilst he was in the military.
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As Derbyshire Live reports, his mental health began to decline which resulted in a number of suicide attempts, including two attempts whilst he was still serving in the military. When he returned home from Afghanistan, Mr Cole was a completely different person, according to his ex-wife, Teresa. She said: “Even when he was having a good day, he would only be half of the Jonny I married."
Teresa described him as a "bubbly chap" that "everyone loved". Mr Cole did get some support from the military for his psychological trauma, taking part in eight sessions of "eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing therapy" (EDMR), a psychotherapy that helps people process and recover from past experiences.
However, Mr Cole's inquest, held at Chesterfield Coroner's Court today (Tuesday, April 25), heard how the recommended number of EDMR therapy sessions for combat trauma is between 16 and 24, significantly more than the eight he received.
Those eight EDMR sessions were the only psychological therapy Mr Cole received to treat his PTSD up until his death in 2018. He attempted to take his life after being discharged from the military but there was no referral for review by a psychiatrist or treatment.
Mr Cole did approach a veteran charity expressing a need for help as he was having trouble mentally, but they didn't respond by the time he died. He was put on medication for his mental health, which became ineffective. His medication was changed in June 2018 but this was to be of no help.
A month before his death, Mr Cole was arrested as a result of a dispute with a neighbour, after it was alleged the neighbour threw a bottle into Mr Cole's garden whilst he was holding his son. Mr Cole was given a court date of August 8, 2018.
On August 7, Mr Cole left his house in Ironville with a bottle and without taking his medication. He was reported missing by Derbyshire police and sadly was found dead in Codnor Park on August 8. Mr Cole was never given a formal diagnosis of PTSD prior to his death at the age of 39.
Assistant Coroner Sophie Cartwright said Mr Cole's mental health problems should have been acknowledged. She said: "The deceased left the Army in 2013 without a diagnosis of PTSD, this was a failure, and a diagnosis of PTSD was appropriate at that time."
Speaking after Mr Cole's inquest, Teresa said: "He just loved life, his kids were his priority - he did everything for his children. He was very outgoing, nothing was too much for him. Even in the military, he'd have done anything to help the guys.
"He did prove it. Even when he got blown up in 2009 and the guys all came home from the tour of Afghanistan they had a pass-out parade and Jonny opted to be the driver of the minibus. He should have been enjoying a fun day, a family day, but no, of course, he opted to drive the minibus and bring all the injured guys in and out of the camp because that was him."
Teresa claims she had to fight for the support of military charities just to pay for Jonny’s funeral. She also found correspondence on his laptop regarding a war pension he had never received. When she chased it up she said she was told it was declined because Jonny was not injured in war.
An Army spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with the family of Jonathan Cole who died five years after he left the Army. The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme considers all claimants from injury from service.”
Two "prevention of future death" reports were filed by the coroner, a significant step which is rarely made following inquests, noting a number of failings in Mr Cole's case - one for Nottinghamshire Healthcare Foundation Trust and the other for the Ministry of Defence. Issues raised for the trust related to Mr Cole's treatment he was given for his mental health and how this was investigated following his death.
Whilst Ms Cartwright, the coroner, acknowledged the Ministry of Defence has made improvements to its training and instruction surrounding PTSD, she raised the issue of the numbers and shortage of psychologists and therapists equipped to deal with PTSD in the military.
Ifti Majid, chief executive of Nottinghamshire Healthcare Foundation Trust, said: “On behalf of the trust, I once again extend our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Jonathan Cole for their loss.
“We are considering the coroner’s findings and have already made a number of changes, including providing support to veterans self-referring to other agencies. We are increasing our partnership working and raising awareness of the support available to veterans and their specific risk factors and ensuring this is instilled into our services.
"Support for veterans will feature in our updated suicide prevention strategy which will reflect the national strategy due for publication later in the year. We will continue to build on these developments to address the concerns raised by the coroner so that the experience for future patients is improved.”
The inquest concluded at Chesterfield Coroner's Court today (Tuesday, April 25).
The Samaritans run a free 24-hour phone line on 116 123 for people experiencing a range of problems, and also has a website with further details.
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