Mother raises concerns over level of care offered to Stowmarket son before suicide during inquest at Suffolk Coroner's Court in Ipswich

A mother has raised concerns about the level of care offered to her son who took his own life after struggling with his mental health.

Father-of-two Oliver Fountain, 34, of Purcell Road, Stowmarket, was found hanging at home by his mother, Maureen Fountain, on September 5 last year, an inquest heard today.

Emergency services were called but paramedics pronounced Mr Fountain dead shortly after 12pm and a suicide note was later found in an upstairs bedroom.

At Suffolk Coroner's Court, in Ipswich, today coroner Daniel Sharpstone ruled Mr Fountain's death a suicide.

During the inquest, Mrs Fountain shared concerns that more could have been done to prevent his death.

Coroner Sharpstone said Mr Fountain, a pipe layer, had a 'significant past of psychiatric history' and around July and August last year 'had a significant deterioration in his mental health largely due to issues with a partner at the time'.

Following a consultation with his GP on August 27, Mr Fountain was referred to the mental health team at the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), who deemed him to be 'low-risk'.

However, by September 3, Mrs Fountain was so concerned about her son's mental state, she went to the GP to discuss him receiving more help.

An emergency referral was made to the Woodlands mental health unit in Ipswich, with Mr Fountain stating he was having suicidal thoughts.

During a visit from mental health nurses from NSFT to his home in Purcell Road the following day, Mr Fountain said he was sharing concerns about the breakdown of the relationship with his partner, the mother of his eldest child.

Mrs Fountain said her son managed to 'hide the pain to an extent' but shared particular concerns that her son was assessed as 'low-risk' following a mental health consultation with the NSFT on August 27.

"I do not think anybody quite got how he was in his head," she said. "How he was.

"So to put him as low-risk I felt was the wrong decision."

She added: "Everybody said to him, 'phone this number'.

"He never could phone anybody. He just cried and cried and cried.

"And so I know you have to say it but you have to recognise that when you are that depressed, you cannot pick the phone up."

She also said she regretted not persuading her son to take up an offer to be admitted to hospital following his consultation with nurses at the Woodlands unit two days before his death.

"That's the only thing that would have saved him unfortunately," she said.

Cath Byford, deputy chief executive officer and chief people officer at NSFT, said: “Our hearts go out to Oliver’s family, his death was a tragedy, and we are keen to support them in any way we can.

“Patient safety is at the heart of any decision our staff make.

"A safety plan is developed with service users and increased support is offered when risks change, including offering an inpatient stay and regular home visits where appropriate.

"We are deeply sorry that in Oliver’s case the steps we took did not prevent his death.”

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