Widow wins pay-out over death of husband

Date published: 07 January 2014


A WOMAN whose husband hanged himself after health officials failed to address his suicidal tendencies has been awarded substantial compensation.

Patrick Carey was found by his wife Eileen at their home in Lord Lane, Failsworth in January 2009.

Oldham coroner Simon Nelson later said Mr Carey was “waiting for a call that never came”.

The 55-year-old father was initially referred to the A&E department at the Royal Oldham Hospital after going to his GP with suicidal thoughts. It was noted that he should be seen urgently.

Over the following two months he saw his GP many times and was prescribed anti-depressants. He constantly asked for help and a contact number to discuss his problems.

But he didn’t receive any information from the hospital — and eventually received an appointment for four days after his death.

Speaking for his family after the award, solicitor Jacqueline White said: “This was an horrific set of circumstances. If the primary care trust had acted quicker then perhaps Mr Carey would have received the help he was so desperately seeking.

“All the expert psychiatric witnesses agreed that, with the correct medication and counselling, on the balance of probabilities Mr Carey could have been helped.

“Mrs Carey suffered not only the loss of her husband, but the added trauma of finding his body. This award goes someway to recognising that.”

The trust later launched an inquiry and said it would use findings from the inquest to aid the investigation.