Mum of Kelvedon level crossing suicide victim slams NHS for lack of mental health support

The mother of a talented artist who died after being struck by a train at a level crossing has slammed the mental health service for not providing him with enough support.

Robert David Marney, 36, had been battling with psychosis and schizophrenia when he deliberately took his own life at THE crossing on Church Street, Kelvedon, on February 13.

Although he had been living in High Street at the time of his death, Mr Marney had previously stayed at The Gables in Braintree, part of the Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT).

It was there he received treatment for his mental health conditions.

Following on from an inquest which determined he committed suicide, Mr Marney’s mother, Brenda Francis, has criticised the NHS trust.

She claims that a lack of support provided to her son after he was sent home from the unit was to blame for his death.

“Rob very much wanted to live,” Ms Francis said after the hearing.

“He had a trip to Amsterdam booked and was going to live in Berlin and had just got his master’s.

“He had no help – he told me he was not going to live with the illness because he had a vibrant life before it.

“What killed Rob was the lack of care from mental health before it.

“What they need to do for other poor young men is there needs to be somewhere they can go when they are released from being sectioned.”

Ms Francis bravely spoke at her son’s inquest yesterday morning (May 29), and told the court how on the day he died he had appeared “anxious”.

She said: “He was very anxious earlier that day. He said he had walked for three hours already, so much so that his feet were blistered.

“He had got socially phobic so did not go to the gym anymore.

“I told him, ‘Not now Rob it is getting dark’.

“He said, ‘No I need to go now I am anxious and it helps’.

“He left the house that night.

“I let him go and I do not know why I did not run after him”

Also at the inquest was a representative of the trust, Catherine Bunch, who addressed the family and told them further meetings would be arranged to discuss what had happened.

The court heard that before Mr Marney committed suicide, several concerned passers-by tried to talk him out of lying in front of the incoming train.

Having heard all the evidence, senior coroner Caroline Beasley-Murraycame to the conclusion that Mr Marney had killed himself after battling mental illness.

“He was clearly gifted, I can see that and he clearly was much loved by members of his family,” she said.

“I would like to express my sympathies to you and hope we will be able to think back upon those good memories you have of him.”

A spokesperson for EPUT said: “Remembering Robert today, we fully understand the great hurt these proceedings revived for his family.

“They wanted a full and proper explanation about the circumstances around Robert’s death and we hope the coroner’s conclusion will begin to help them find answers to their questions.

“We acknowledge the coroner’s findings and the narrative delivered; that Robert ‘killed himself while suffering from a diagnosed mental illness’ and we have offered to support Robert’s family in any way we can.

“We have already commissioned an internal investigation as it is important to understand that whatever the circumstances, we must always find ways to learn and improve.”

1 Comment

  1. My husband recently committed suicide after five years of so called treatment from EPUT//SEPT. The response from EPUT reported in this article is practically word for word the response they gave in the newspaper article reporting my husband’s Inquest, right down to the bit about further meetings being arranged (which came to nothing) and a report already having been commissioned. How much longer can they be allowed to get away with this. How can the Coroner just sit there and listen to their promises knowing that nothing will change?

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