My son took his life. Why did the NHS ignore the warning signs?

Chris Nichols was one of 2,000 mental health inpatients who died in Essex between 2000 and 2023. The Lampard Inquiry is tasked with finding out why

In one of his final conversations with his mother, Chris Nichols was upbeat and hopeful despite a period of turbulence and poor mental health.

He had phoned Linda Lindsay from Colchester Hospital, in Essex, where he had sought help after the latest in a series of suicide attempts. Despite complaining of voices in his head and acknowledging he had hurt himself, there was a note of optimism as he told her things were going to change.

“He told me ‘it’s all right, Mum, you don’t need to worry. I’m going to get help’,” says Lindsay, 70, recounting the phone call in May 2022. “If only that happened.”

Shortly afterwards, in the early hours of May 30, Nichols was discharged and took a cab home, his right wrist bandaged from the self-inflicted wounds. On June 3 he took his own life at his home in Clacton-on-Sea, aged 44.

Nichols’s mother and stepfather Iain Lindsay, 72, believe his suicide was preventable. He had a long history of mental health issues and alcohol dependency, and had been at A&E on May 24 after overdosing on the anxiety drug Clonazepam.

His relatives cannot understand why, given his risk factors, he was released so quickly, discharged to his GP and advised to self-refer to alcohol related services. They say he was not given a clear care plan or proper support.

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Source: The Times, 25 April 2025

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