Dad John Moore took his own life in Castle Park, inquest hears

John Moore, 39, took his own life on June 10 last year in the children’s play area at Colchester Castle Park.

An inquest revealed what area coroner Sean Horstead described as “inadequacies” in the mental health care Essex Partnership University Trust provided to Mr Moore in 2020.

An inquest on Friday heard Mr Moore, who had mental health problems and often found himself without work and permanent accommodation, had been admitted to hospital in April 2020 after taking an overdose of drugs.

But despite having been homeless when he was admitted, Mr Moore was discharged only a week later without accommodation to return to.

Giving evidence at the inquest, Benjamin Gentleman – a clinical manager at EPUT – said it was the only instance he had encountered when a patient was released back onto the streets from a hospital ward.

• READ MORE >> Heartbroken family pays tribute to 'wonderful and amazing' dad who died aged 39

Mr Gentleman said: “This is the only example I’ve seen of a patient discharged to the streets.”

Mr Horstead also quizzed Mr Moore’s allocated care co-ordinator, Vikki Jones, who said she had only had two phone calls with Mr Moore and never met him face-to-face.

Tribute - John Moore

She added she did not feel at the time there was a risk to Mr Moore’s wellbeing when he disengaged with mental health services, despite his history of suicide attempts.

Concluding the inquest, Mr Horstead: “Mr Moore came in homeless and was discharged back onto the streets – that is a cause for concern.

“Record keeping was, in this case, inappropriate and inadequate.

“There were missed opportunities but I can’t draw a cause or link because of the amount of time between the missed opportunities and Mr Moore’s death.

“I can’t say it would have been different had EPUT acted differently.”

After his death, Mr Moore’s mother Susan said: “He was always there to listen to other people and he was the best daddy his children could have ever hoped for.”

After the inquest, she described her son as “troubled but loved”.

She said: "John knew he wasn't getting any better -- I used to drive around Colchester looking for him when I didn't hear from him.

"He had my phone number in his pocket and he never called me -- that's what I will always think about.

"He was loved; that's all people need to know -- he was loved but he was troubled."

Anyone needing help can contact the Samaritans free by calling 116123.