A former investment banker battling alcoholism who hanged himself after his GP told him to start drinking again was failed by the NHS who were warned he was planning his suicide, his partner said today.
Sandra Smith said before Stephen Appleton's death in Berkshire last year he had 'given up hope' he could be saved from his drinking and mental health problems.
Ms Smith said: 'Even when he was planning and rehearsing his method of killing himself and I was desperately trying to get help, no-one seemed overly concerned. No-one offered the help that Stephen and I needed there and then.
'Our family has lost Stephen, the father and partner we loved and the person who supported us through everything. I believe he could have been saved with the right treatment. Instead, he was left suffering whilst his symptoms of paranoia, fear and false beliefs worsened. We will never come to terms with our loss.
She added: 'I believe the mental health services let us down and that the way they operate means that patients such as Stephen are not safe'.
Sandra Smith with her partner Stephen Appleton was failed by the NHS as he took his own life while battling depression and alcoholism. He had given up drinking but told to start again to avoid seizures
Mr Appleton took his own life in April last year - eight days after his GP Dr Vikash Patel told him he should resume his habit of drinking six pints of strong lager a day because abstaining completely could kill him, the inquest heard.
In January 2018 Mr Appleton started attending alcoholics anonymous and registered with his local mental health service in Berkshire after years of battling depression and alcohol addiction.
Stephen Appleton, 51 (pictured in an undated photo), gave up drinking on April 2 2018 after years of battling alcoholism and depression. An inquest heard he was told to resume drinking by his doctor and was found hanged eight days later
But in the three months before his death he only spoke to a counsellor on the phone and told a face-to-face appointment was ten weeks away.
At the end of the inquest into his death Berkshire assistant coroner Alison McCormick concluded that his death was suicide while suffering from mental illness and alcohol dependence.
But she added that his case raises wider concerns about the care offered to those considered to be at low risk of suicide or self-harm.
His partner Sandra: 'Stephen was let down by our local mental health service. He was depressed and anxious but sought help. However, after weeks of seeking help I believe he gave up hope when that help could not be found'.
At an earlier hearing the coroner had been told how Mr Appleton went to see his GP in Bracknell and told to ramp his drinking back up to six pints a day after he had managed to go 'cold turkey' and abstain from alcohol for days.
Ms Smith said: 'I was shocked and could not believe it. Dr Patel had told Stephen to
