The failure of health services to assess a suicidal father in Molesey on the day of his referral contributed to his death, a coroner has ruled.

Father-of-three Warren Moller, 47, from Tumbling Bay in Walton, was found dead in a barn on November 14 last year.

From Nov 12: 'Depressed' and 'suicidal' father from Walton would still be alive had psychiatric staff not turned him away in his hour of need

It was a day after he had tried to visit the Joseph Palmer Centre in West Molesey following a referral from the Glenlyn Medical Centre in East Molesey.

Woking Coroner’s Court heard on Tuesday, November 10 as part of a three-day inquest, that Mr Moller, who had suffered with depression for more than 20 years, had met with Dr Gavin McColl at the Glenlyn surgery on November 13 last year.

The appointment came several days after he was arrested for assault when he doused his family home with petrol when the family’s pet dog urinated on the floor on November 9.

Mr Moller’s wife Lorraine had said no assault had taken place and she had retracted her statement at the time, but the police decided to pursue charges on their own.

He had been released on bail with the conditions he not see his wife or children, or return to the family home.

Surrey Comet:

The three-day inquest was heard at Woking Coroner's Court

Dr McColl said at the inquest that Mr Moller had come to him with "active suicidal thoughts", expressing problems in his relationship with his wife, his living situation and a low mood that he had "struggled with his whole adult life".

Following the assessment he deemed him to require “urgent” psychiatric care that day and referred him to the Joseph Palmer Centre.

But staff at the centre had failed to prioritise seeing the patient after a mix-up at Glenlyn surgery meant his written referral was not passed on until around 4.30pm.

The duty practitioner at the Joseph Palmer Centre, Alice Childs, along with consultant psychiatrist Dr Deepa Deo, agreed to forgo a risk assessment, instead opting to see Mr Moller the next morning, despite the urgency warning, the court heard.

After ending a phone call with Miss Childs "abruptly", Mr Moller texted his wife saying "enough is enough" and switched his phone off.

Assistant coroner for Surrey, Dr Karen Henderson concluded that the delay in seeing Mr Moller had contributed to his death.

She said that she did not find that the failure to provide an appointment that day directly caused Mr Moller’s death, but contributed towards it.

Dr Henderson said she was satisfied Mr Moller’s family needed to be separated from him following his outburst on November 9, adding he had been deemed safe to be released following a mental health assessment.

On Thursday, November 12, the inquest concluded Mr Moller took his own life.

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