Minster man with eating disorder 'failed by NHS' before dying

Steven Brazier developed the disorder after putting on weight when he broke a leg

A man was failed by medical staff because he did not get "adequate treatment" for the eating disorder he had when he died, the NHS has admitted.

Steven Brazier had lost 11 stone in two years on a weight-loss programme he joined when he weighed 19 stone.

Mr Brazier, of Minster, Kent, had lost his teeth and could barely walk, before he had a fatal cardiac arrest, in 2014.

Kent and Medway NHS Trust admitted the 20-year-old's care was not of the standard he should have expected.

His mother Melanie said he might have lived if he had the mental health help he needed.

"He was left with no care at all. Nobody seemed to know who was looking after him," she said.

"He would say 'I can't go on like this mum, I just want to die'."

Mr Brazier was described as a 'skeleton with skin'

Mr Brazier was described by his grandmother Pauline as a "skeleton with a bit of skin stretched over him" while under the care of the Social Care Partnership Trust, a body within the NHS trust.

A spokeswoman said: "Communications between the services providing care for Mr Brazier was not adequate.

"Patients should expect a standard of service which was not provided on this occasion."

The trust added it made improvements "as a result of learning from the failings in Steven's case".

The trust has admitted failing Mr Brazier

Mr Brazier was assessed by the trust's eating disorders unit in December 2011.

But, it took months to admit him, but he was then repeatedly discharged from care and allowed to self-discharge.

It led to him becoming withdrawn and isolated, and he began to self-harm as his condition became increasingly life-threatening.

As his condition worsened, he began to lose his teeth

His mother caught him standing in the middle of a busy dual carriageway and pleaded unsuccessfully with hospital staff to detain him for his own safety under the Mental Health Act.

In June 2012 he was transferred to a mental health treatment centre for more than a year.

The trust discharged him, despite the Community Mental Health Team refusing to accept his case, and he died soon after in February 2014.

Steven Brazier lost more than half his body weight