NHS trust criticised after death of arrested man

Northamptonshire's coroner, based at Northampton's Guildhall, has written a prevention of future deaths report

An NHS mental health trust has been criticised by a coroner for not running a Saturday service for people arrested, following the death of a man.

Paul Appleby, 62, took his own life in February, the day after he was detained for a drink driving offence in Northamptonshire.

In a prevention of future deaths report, the county's senior coroner, Anne Pember, said it was "matter of concern" that Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) had not run a "Saturday court service for several years".

The trust said it was "firmly committed to learning from incidents and improving our practices".

The report said Mr Appleby was arrested for a drink driving offence on Friday 21 February, when he was charged and remanded in custody.

He was examined by a doctor, "who advised that Mr Appleby should be seen by court liaison and diversion before release from custody".

The Court Liaison and Diversion Service identifies those who have mental health issues, learning disability, substance misuse problems or other vulnerabilities, according to NHFT.

Ms Pember's report said that the following day, Saturday 22 February, the detention officer at Wheatley Wood Justice Centre in Kettering sent an email to the community psychiatric nurse at the Criminal Justice Centre "to inform him or her that Mr Appleby should be reviewed prior to being released".

But he was not seen by the liaison and diversion team before his release - and took his own life later that day.

Ms Pember said there had not been a service on Saturday and "previously an on-call service has been provided".

She said: "I am concerned that this lack of service could give rise to future deaths."

In a statement, NHFT said: "Our thoughts and sympathies are with the family and friends of Mr Appleby at this difficult time.

"We are working with our partners to prepare a formal response to the concerns that the Coroner has raised in the report."

The trust has until 16 December to respond to the report.