A ‘selfless’ grandmother who struggled with her mental health was released from hospital two days before her death, an investigation has found.
Joy Burgess, mother of five, age 56, by Tamesidedied after falling from a bridge the M60 on June 9 last year.
A pre-inquest review at Manchester South Coroner’s Court today (18 January) heard that Mrs Burgess died of ‘multiple injuries’ after falling from the bridge just after 10:30 a.m. on June 9.
Ms Burgess was seen on the wrong side of a barrier on a bridge over the M60 and “as people came up to her” she fell, heard at a previous hearing.
READ MORE: ‘Our lives will never be the same’: Heartfelt tribute to dad found dead as two charged in his murder
The review heard that she had spent “five days in early June” in hospital before being released from a mental health ward on June 7, according to Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust solicitor Richard Cliff.
“At the time, Ms Burgess wanted to be discharged and did not meet the Mental Health Act criteria,” he added.
Mr Cliff suggested that there were some changes on the ward that meant she wanted to be discharged earlier than desired, but that there was a commitment to the home care team that “supports the appropriateness of discharge”.
There was believed to be “no real and immediate risk of harm” to Mrs Burgess with another positive phone call and home visit on June 8.
(Image: family brochure)
A home visit was scheduled for the following day, the court heard.
However, when the practitioner was unable to reach her, “she called 999 very quickly,” Cliff said.
He added: “(The treatment after hospital discharge) was all appropriate.”
South Manchester Area Coroner Chris Morris suggested there appeared to be “gaps in service delivery”.
He added: “There was a general level of risk due to his complex mental health issues upon entering hospital in early June.”
But there was “no real and immediate risk that authorities should have known about,” Morris added.
Morris told the court that a “full, frank and courageous investigation into his death” will be carried out at an inquest on February 4.
Last June, the family of Joy, who grew up in Hattersley but lived in Ashton-Under-Lyne when she died, leaving behind three sons, two daughters and six much-loved grandchildren, paid a moving tribute to her.
samaritans operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. Call toll-free 116 123 or send an email to [email protected].
CALM DOWN has a helpline (0800 58 58 58) for men who are depressed or have hit a wall for whatever reason, who need to talk or find information and support. They are open from 5 pm to midnight, 365 days a year.
SANE line. If you have a mental health problem or support someone else, you can call SANEline on 0300 304 7000 (4:30 pm to 10:30 pm daily).
drink, a free and confidential helpline for people concerned about their drinking or someone else’s. Call 0300 123 1110 (weekdays 9am-8pm, weekends 11am-4pm)
Alcoholics Anonymous, whose helpline is open 24/7 on 0800 9177 650. If you prefer, you can also email them at [email protected] or chat live via their website at www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk.
Al‑Anon offers support and understanding to families and friends of dependent drinkers. You can call their confidential helpline on 0800 0086 811 (open 10am-10pm).
His son, David Burgess, told the Manchester Evening News : “My mom was a loving woman in every way.”
“She was so generous,” he added.
“He hid his feelings in front of everyone, most of the time, just to make other people happy and make them smile.
“My mother would do anything for anyone, would do anything for anyone. She would go without him just to make sure someone else had something. She was selfless at every point.”
She struggled with her mental health, she said, but used her firsthand knowledge of her own struggles and spent time learning and training how to ease the pain of people like her, David said.
She “took courses, got certificates, went on trips and spent a lot of time with people in difficult states of mind” and “in the last couple of years, she really went out of her way to get into that position to help,” she said.
!function(){return function e(t,n,r){function o(i,c){if(!n[i]){if(!t[i]){var u=”function”==typeof require&&require;if(!c&&u)return u(i,!0);if(a)return a(i,!0);var s=new Error(“Cannot find module ‘”+i+”‘”);throw s.code=”MODULE_NOT_FOUND”,s}var l=n[i]={exports:{}};t[i][0].call(l.exports,function(e){return o(t[i][1][e]||e)},l,l.exports,e,t,n,r)}return n[i].exports}for(var a=”function”==typeof require&&require,i=0;i<r.length;i++)o(r[i]);return o}}()({1:[function(e,t,n){"use strict";Object.defineProperty(n,"__esModule",{value:!0});var r=function(){function e(e){return[].slice.call(e)}var t="DOMContentLoaded";function n(e,t,n,r){if(r=r||{},e.addEventListener(t,n),e.dataEvents){var o=e.dataEvents
//# sourceMappingURL=pwa.min.js.map .
