A former partner of a man who jumped to his death from an escalator at Debenhams in Oxford Street battled in vain to have him admitted to a psychiatric hospital for four years, an inquest heard.
Donna Burney said Percival James, 43, of Lambeth “believed he had to fight demons and was often heard crying out in anxiety by his neighbour”.
Mr James, a painter and decorator, died at the store on November 5 last year. One witness, Serpil Veira, told the court she saw a man run towards her before throwing himself over the escalator barrier. A post mortem examination gave the cause of death as multiple trauma and head injury.
Ms Burney, who was Mr James’s carer, told Westminster coroner’s court she had repeatedly tried to have him sectioned by Maudsley Hospital as his schizophrenia worsened. But the Camberwell hospital refused to admit him because his condition did not “pass the threshold”, the hearing was told.
Mr James had been under the care of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust since 2007. In the first three years he was admitted to Maudsley six times. But he had not been admitted again or taken any medication since 2010.
Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe said: “I find it very striking that there were six admissions in three years and then no admissions in four years.”
She expressed concern at the impact that reorganisations at the Maudsley were having on the quality of patient care. A report found staff to be “overwhelmed with clinical duties”.
The coroner adjourned the inquest, saying she wished to hear from the trust’s medical staff who had cared for Mr James, as well as from a senior official about the reorganisations. It is expected to reconvene in the summer.
Samaritans (08457 90 90 90, samaritans.org)
