Sister slams mental health team after hanging suicicde

Terence Bettger, 65, used his belt to hang himself from a bar in his loft in Blackmill Close on January 11.

After his inquest in Hastings Magistrates Court on Wednesday, sister Carol Talbot, of Hailsham, said: "I didn't think they (the mental health response team] acted quickly enough in the beginning of his illness, before he disengaged.

"When he was first depressed he went downhill very quickly, but the crisis team was slow to react. Whether it was down to resources or otherwise, they couldn't get enough help to him quick enough."

The inquest heard Bettger, a divorced father-of-four, was twice admitted to Woodlands Mental Health Unit, Baldslow Road, Hastings, starting in September 2008.

His GP, David Newell, told coroner Alan Craze that Mr Bettger had a history of depression starting in 1991 and became increasingly withdrawn despite attempts to offer him treatment.

Psychiatrist Radhae Shyam said: "We tried to engage him in occupational therapy but he found it difficult to engage."

Recording a verdict of suicide, Mr Craze said: "The sad thing is what a doctor would call lack of engagement which was his choice.

"It's sad for any human being to contemplate that he was alone at that time."

A spokesperson from Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which manages the Crisis Response Team, called it a "tragic case," adding: "Our sympathy goes to the bereaved family. We are satisfied that the Trust acted appropriately and offered the relevant support to Mr Bettger at all times and this was echoed by the coroner who examined the case."