Tragedy of struggling dad whose life ended after he walked out of A&E
10.05.2023 - 05:51
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A dad died after falling from a motorway bridge having walked out of A&E, an inquest heard. Alan Dennison, 55, suffered 'unsurvivable' injuries following the incident on the M61 in Bolton on October 12 last year.
An inquest at Bolton Coroners' Court heard Mr Dennison went to the Royal Bolton Hospital after an ambulance failed to turn up at his home following a 999 call. Paramedics were asked to attend Mr Dennison's home the previous evening after he phoned police to report that he had 'stabbed himself' and was struggling with his mental health.
When an ambulance failed to turn up, he made his own way to hospital. He arrived at 6.30am and, after revealing that he was having suicidal thoughts, he was triaged for a mental health assessment.
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Within around 15 minutes of arriving, Mr Dennison left the hospital and made his way home. He was later seen 'behaving erratically' moments before falling from a bridge over the M61. He suffered 'multiple blunt force impact injuries' and was pronounced dead by paramedics, the hearing was told.
The inquest heard Mr Dennison suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and that his mental health deteriorated following a friend's death. In 2021, he was detained under the Mental Health Act after threatening to jump from a bridge.
After being discharged from hospital, he was put on a plan for home-based treatment and care provided by a community mental health team. By October last year, Mr Dennison's mental health had deteriorated.
During an appointment with Mr Dennison on October 11 - the day before his death - a psychiatric nurse reported he appeared 'anxious, paranoid and agitated'. The inquest heard Mr Dennison stopped