Depressed alcoholic told to start drinking again by GP eight days before he killed himself

Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Phoebe Southworth

13 FEBRUARY 2019

A GP told a depressed alcoholic to start drinking six pints of beer a day again to ease his withdrawal symptoms eight days before he killed himself, an inquest heard.

Dr Vikash Patel advised Stephen Appleton to resume his old boozing habits and warned him of the dangers of giving up too quickly when he visited him at his surgery.

The 51-year-old was found hanging at his home in Windsor, Berkshire, just over a week later on 12 April.

At an inquest into his death today, Dr Patel was questioned about why he had advised Mr Appleton to start drinking again.

The GP told the inquest: “Stephen had reduced his alcohol intake, had been abstaining for two or three days. My understanding at the time is that he was consuming somewhere in the region of six pints a day before.

“We had a discussion about the risks of alcohol withdrawal symptoms. My main concerns were with respect to withdrawal seizures, which can potentially be fatal.

“I was told that his alcohol consumption should be reverted back to original levels and reduced by 10 per cent per week.

“I felt that to be reasonable or he would have run the risk of potentially fatal consequences.”

Dr Patel told the inquest that he was following advice from Turning Point, an addiction service based in Slough, which he then passed on to his patient.

Mr Appleton, who lived with his partner Sandra Smith and his daughter, worked in investments in the City of London for 15 years before he was made redundant in 2009.

He then began counselling people who were going through bankruptcy.

Mr Appleton began drinking in 2016 and was having six pints of strong lager every day when he sought professional help, the inquest heard.

Ms Smith said that he had gone cold turkey for a few days when he went to see Dr Patel.

She said she was shocked that the doctor had told him to take up drinking again, and that night he downed two bottles of wine.

Ms Smith told the inquest: “On 4 April Stephen and I went to see Dr Patel. Stephen said he had been abstaining from alcohol for days. He was feeling optimistic. I was hopeful we could finally get some help.

“However, when we saw Dr Patel, he told Stephen that stopping drinking alcohol immediately was dangerous and could cause a seizure. He told Stephen to start drinking again.

“I was shocked and could not believe it. Dr Patel said to taper off slowly in a controlled way. How could I control the drinking of a man who drank in secret?”

Ms Smith described how Mr Appleton had become consumed by financial worries before his death, despite earning about £100,000 a year and owning properties and a racing car.

She said that his job advising people experiencing bankruptcy was bringing him down and that he said each person he spoke to “took a part of him”.

Dr David Bremner, medical director at Turning Point, said: “Whilst we can’t comment on the individual circumstances surrounding the sad death of Mr Appleton, we do advise GPs to refer patients who are alcohol dependent to specialist treatment services.

“We recommend that while someone is waiting to be assessed by specialist treatment services they should not suddenly stop their drinking because of the risk of seizures and death. 

“However, this would have to be viewed on the individual circumstances and the advice where anyone is experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms is to access emergency services.”

The inquest continues.