Roy Curtis death: Milton Keynes coroner calls for changes to urgent social care

Roy Curtis, who was otherwise known as Ayman Habayeb, was found dead in his flat in Milton Keynes on 21 August 2019

A coroner has called for changes to "overly bureaucratic" referrals to urgent adult social care after the body of a man who took his own life was not found for nine months.

Roy Curtis died on or around 18 November 2018, but was not found until August 2019 by a bailiff who went to evict him from his Milton Keynes flat.

Coroner Tom Osborne raised concerns in a prevention of future deaths report.

He said there was a "lost opportunity" to offer Mr Curtis support.

Mr Curtis, pictured with his mother, is thought to have died on or around 18 November 2018

Last month, an inquest at Milton Keynes Coroner's Court heard Mr Curtis had been admitted to The Campbell Centre, a mental health facility in the town, after he sent a 14-page suicide letter to "online friends" on 13 September 2018.

In the letter Mr Curtis, also known as Ayman Habayeb, said he intended to take his own life on 19 September as his benefits had been stopped.

After staff helped to reinstate and backdate his benefits, Mr Curtis was discharged to the care of the home treatment team on 5 October, but an urgent adult care assessment was requested on 13 September while he was still at the facility.

A social worker was not allocated until 26 November and no contact with Mr Curtis was attempted until 3 December, Mr Osborne had told the inquest.

Senior coroner Tom Osborne said the case highlighted "overly bureaucratic" processes involved in adult social care referrals

The coroner said numerous agencies tried contacting Mr Curtis from November onwards but received no response.

Mr Curtis's body was found on 21 August 2019 - a month after his 28th birthday.

A narrative verdict was recorded at the inquest, with Mr Osborne ruling Mr Curtis's death was as a result of hanging.

In his preventing future deaths report, Mr Osborne wrote that there was "a failure to complete an adult social care assessment that resulted in a lost opportunity to assess his [Mr Curtis's] needs and offer him support".

"The procedure for allocating and responding to a referral for an urgent adult social care assessment is overly bureaucratic and they are not afforded the priority within social services that they so obviously require," Mr Osborne wrote.

Milton Keynes Council must respond to the prevention of future deaths report within 56 days, the coroner said.

A statement issued by MK Together Safeguarding Partners, which includes the council, said: "significant changes" had been made to the way agencies shared information to "support people with complex needs".

"This tragic death underlines the importance of strong collaboration between the NHS, social care, housing providers, and the police," the statement said.

"We will do everything possible to reduce the risk of this happening again."

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