A Camden man took his own life after struggling for years to come to terms with his partner’s death, a coroner has ruled.
Day care assistant Antonio D’Este, 56, died from multiple injuries after dropping from his 21st floor flat on the Chalcots estate in Swiss Cottage.
Paramedics called to Fellows Road on May 30 pronounced him dead at the scene.
An inquest at St Pancras Coroner’s Court today (November 18) heard Mr D’Este had struggled with his mental health since the deaths of his mother and his partner Gerald in 2017.
Witnessing Gerald’s death in the street from a heart attack, GP records said, left Mr D’Este “traumatised”.
But a referral to a specialist post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) service appeared never to have been acted on.
Instead, friend Anthony McMahon told the coroner, Mr D’Este seemed to be “going around in circles”.
Mr McMahon, who had known Mr D’Este since 2002, was with him on the morning of his death.
He said Mr D’Este, who had a Universal Credit meeting that day, had been “anxious”.
Mr McMahon said he tried without success to warn health services about Mr D’Este’s worsening mental health.
When Mr D’Este was hospitalised on mental health grounds during a holiday in Scotland weeks before his death, Mr McMahon said the hospital refused to speak to him because he was not a relative.
He told the court that Mr D’Este was initially assessed as requiring psychiatric in-patient treatment, but then discharged “because there was no beds available”.
Scottish mental health services then took weeks to inform Mr D’Este’s doctors in London of his hospitalisation – and never provided requested records to the coroner.
Dr Brittain ruled Mr D’Este’s death a suicide, but told Mr McMahon: “Your concerns are understandable.”
He made an order that Scottish health services turn over their records within four weeks.
Depending what came back, he said, he might issue a Prevention of Future Deaths report.
“Antonio was a very loving person,” Mr McMahon said after the hearing.
“He worked as a care officer for 20 years and also looked after Gerald as an unofficial carer for many years.”
The couple helped Mr McMahon set up an organisation called John Paul Retreats, in memory of his brother, offering free breaks to bereaved families.
“He would do anything for anyone,” said Mr McMahon. “He was always there to support people.”
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