A father of Lydd took his own life after failures in mental health services, according to an investigation.
Wayne Leppard, 68, was found on the northeast edge of a lake at CEMEX Denge Quarry in romney marsh on the morning of September 7 last year.
He was reported missing on September 3, 2021 after leaving his home in Lydd without notifying anyone.
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The timeline of the investigation began in January 2020 when Wayne attended the A&E department at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford with low blood pressure.
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He was admitted to the cardiology ward and had a pacemaker fitted, but the family did not hear of any further follow-up appointments.
The court heard that Wayne had already been anxious before the surgery, and that there was no forthcoming date for the procedure which “proved to alter the stability of his mental health”.
The family told coroner Katrina Hepburn: “This devastated Wayne.
“He had prepared himself for the operation that would never come.
“With this and the start of the COVID restrictions, it was too much for Wayne.”
After attending A&E once again with injuries to his wrists, he was treated and reviewed by the psychiatric liaison team, part of the Kent and Medway Partnership Trust.
This led to Wayne being arrested at Jasmine Ward in Dartford on May 11, 2020 after reporting “low mood and self-destructive behaviour”.
(Image: KentLive)
He was diagnosed with psychotic depression and low mood, and was later released on July 6, 2020 after “significant improvement” in his mental health.
At the time of discharge, a plan had been initiated to provide continued care for Wayne, however his introduction to the team at Jasmine Ward appeared to be very different from his introduction to the family.
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They are 24 hours a day, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
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The family told the coroner that he was “unrecognizable, inconsistent and immensely paranoid.”
He asked to be taken to his daughter’s house, saying he wanted “lakes,” which the family felt meant he was possibly going into the water.
After receiving evidence from the Kent and Medway Partnership Trust, the coroner determined there was “lack of involvement from Wayne’s care coordinator” as of February 2021 despite a plan in place for a review every two weeks.
Correspondence with Wayne’s care coordinator came over the phone in conversations with Wayne’s wife.
Later that year, during a family vacation in Ireland, Wayne was found in a lake at Castle Caldwell on August 16 despite being unable to swim.
The coroner described this as an “attempt to take his own life”.
After Wayne’s mood “deteriorated further”, he was reported missing on September 3 after leaving his home in Lydd.
Police were contacted and a search for missing persons followed.
A volunteer search party identified and recovered Wayne from Quarry Lake on the morning of September 7, where he was pronounced dead.
You don’t have to suffer in silence if you’re struggling with your mental health. Here are some groups you can contact when you need help:
Samaritans: Telephone 116 123, 24 hours a day, or email [email protected]
Childline: Phone 0800 1111. Calls are free and will not appear on your bill
PAPYRUS: A voluntary organization that supports suicidal teens and young adults. Telephone 0800 068 4141
Depression Alliance – A charity for people with depression. There is no helpline, but it does offer helpful resources and links to other information on its website. website
Students Against Depression: A website for students who are depressed, moody, or suicidal. Click here to visit
Bullying UK – A website for children and adults affected by bullying. Click here
Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALMA): For young people who feel unhappy. Do you have a website here and a helpline: 0800 58 58 58
Actions to take
After hearing all the evidence in the inquest, the court heard from Graham Blackman of the Kent and Medway Partnership Trust to discuss the actions that will be taken after Wayne’s death.
The February-September period was deemed “too long” and the system now flags the need for a monthly contact, prompting staff to search for it.
After concerns were raised about staff workload during this time, caseload reviews have now been conducted for staff members.
Care coordinators should also now prioritize video contact with patients when possible before considering phone and face-to-face contact.
Wayne’s family will be meeting with staff from Kent and the Medway Partnership Trust to further discuss these points.
In her final conclusion, Coroner Katrina Hepburn said: “While the shorthand conclusion is suicide, I will record in the investigation record that there was a lack of regular contact and review.”
“I cannot speculate what might have happened if things had been different, but I will record my finding that there was a failure on the part of mental health services to adequately screen Mr Leppard.
“Concern has been raised that there was a lack of adequate review of the patient, particularly when the care coordinator failed to review and the monitoring system failed to identify and rectify that initial failure.
“I am satisfied, however, that steps have now been taken to rectify this problem.”
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