
Suffolk man's death from fall in Great Yarmouth 'misadventure'
The court heard that Mr James had been out on two hours of unescorted leave from Northgate Hospital in the town, where he was a patient, at the time of the incident.Speaking after the inquest, his brother Michael described Mr James as having a "happy, cheeky smile."Area coroner Samantha Goward praised the family for listening to "the worst of evidence with incredible dignity".His medical cause of death was recorded as traumatic brain injury and adult respiratory distress syndrome after an unwitnessed fall.
If you have been affected by this story, you can find organisations which offer help, support and information at the BBC Action Line
Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Telegraph
12 hours ago
- Telegraph
Electric shock therapy ‘ineffective' and can erase memories, study finds
Electric shock therapy for mental health conditions does not work for most people and can cause patients to lose treasured memories, experts have warned. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a medical procedure used to treat certain severe mental health conditions, such as manic depression, and involves passing a small electrical current through the brain to induce a brief seizure under general anaesthesia. Around 2,500 people are treated each year on the NHS, often after drugs have proved ineffective. But a study of more than 1,000 patients who have had the therapy found that 58.5 per cent believed ECT was not at all helpful, while 62 per cent said it made their quality of life worse. Nearly half said ECT made their life 'much worse' or 'very much worse'. Researchers from the University of East London have called for the practice to be suspended. First author Dr John Read, professor of clinical psychology at the university, said: 'No studies show that ECT has any benefits at all beyond the end of treatment. 'Our findings, from the largest survey ever conducted indicate that claims that ECT is effective are, at best, unproven and, at worst, misleading.' Patients have warned that they have lost memories through the treatment which have never come back. Lisa Morrison, a mental health consultant, received 72 electric treatments over three years after suffering long-term depression during which she had attempted suicide and self-harmed, as a result of historic trauma. She told The Telegraph: 'I am celebrating my 25th wedding anniversary this week but I don't remember my wedding day. I have permanently lost precious memories of my children's birthdays and many other milestones in their lives. 'A friend recently told me that I had childminded her son for a year, but I can't remember doing that. 'I was initially keen to have it, mainly because I just wanted the anaesthetic so I didn't have to live with the distress for a while, and I was so desperate then and you believe the professionals, and they didn't tell me about the harm or that there was no evidence of long-term benefits. 'I had a short-term lift in mood but in a few weeks of having it I was suicidal again and self-harming.' Received trauma therapy Mrs Morrison was eventually diagnosed with post-traumatic stress and dissociative disorder and received trauma therapy which has helped her come off medication. She now works in mental health and often speaks about her experiences. 'Whenever I've spoken about it, more and more people come out and say things like 'we had this done to my mum and she was never the same',' she said. 'I think until there is solid reliable research on the impact, and the damage and how it actually works, it should be suspended.' The research, published in the journal Circulation, found that just 17.8 per cent of patients found the therapy 'very helpful' while only 15.5 per cent said it made their mood 'much better'. About a third said ECT had made them feel less suicidal during treatment while nearly half said it had made no difference. A fifth said the treatment had made them feel 'more suicidal'. Researchers warn that might be an underestimate if some people who felt more suicidal did kill themselves as a result of treatment. Theory it alters brain chemistry The National Institutes of Clinical and Healthcare Excellence (Nice) recommends that ECT is only used to achieve 'rapid and short-term improvement of severe symptoms' after other treatment options have proven ineffective or if the patient's condition is life-threatening. However, although ECT has been used since the 1930s, there is still no generally accepted theory that explains how it works. The most prevalent hypothesis is that it alters brain chemistry and potentially stimulates the growth of new brain cells and neural pathways. Co-author Sarah Hancock, another ECT recipient, said: 'Patients are rarely told that there is little or no evidence that ECT is more effective than placebo for depression. 'I wish this and ECT's risks of injury and absence of medical or rehabilitation interventions [in the event of injury] post treatment had been made known to my parents when I was catatonic.' An NHS England spokesperson said: 'Our clinicians work with patients to get the most appropriate care and treatment for their needs, guided by both national guidance on the evidence base from Nice, and in discussion with patients about their needs.'


BBC News
13 hours ago
- BBC News
Bristol group tackles menopause 'taboo' in South Asian women
A community group is encouraging conversations about menopause in the South Asian community in a bid to tackle the stigma around its effects. South Asian Voices Bristol CIC has launched its 'Empowering women through menopause' project with help from the National Lottery's Community group was founded by vlogger Sheetal Jethwa who struggled with the impact the menopause had on her own said talking about symptoms and the knock-on effect on mental health was "often seen as a weakness" in her community and she hopes the group can help women with similar experiences. Ms Jethwa said she struggled after a thyroid operation in said she was "crying uncontrollably all the time" and even thought about taking her own 45, she wants to get people in her community talking about the menopause - a subject she said was "very much a taboo".She said: "Reaching out to others saved my life and I wish I had done it sooner so now I want to help women who need that support."Ms Jethwa thinks some South Asian women may have "inherited trauma" when it comes to opening up about menopause. The group has been commissioned to do six podcasts and also workshops focusing on the impact of will also hold a speaker's panel on Saturday at Easton Community Jethwa said she had received "really amazing feedback" from the group's early workshops and she hoped the pilot project would continue to be panel event is free and open to anyone with an interest in learning about the menopause.


BBC News
13 hours ago
- BBC News
Blackpool mum 'proud' to join suicide baton relay in hometown
A mother-of-six who was "blindsided" when her husband took his own life has said she is "honoured and extremely proud" to take part in the Baton of Hope tour when it starts in by the suicide prevention charity, bereaved families are preparing to carry the baton through 20 locations in the UK again in a bid to challenge stigma and campaign for practical Southern is taking part for the second time along with her sister Charlotte Dawson, in remembrance of her husband Glen who took his own life in Southern who works for Blackpool's Empowerment Charity said she was "honoured and extremely proud" to bring the baton to the resort for the first time. The baton is carried like an Olympic torch, passed from person to person, being held by 100 local people who each have a direct connection to will walk through Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre. They will pass local services that can offer support for mental and physical will then tour the country, including visiting Leeds, London, Bournemouth and Jersey. Ms Southern said: "When suicide swept into my life, it completely blindsided me. "It detonated like an atomic bomb, leaving me and our six distraught children in the depths of despair. "I felt the loneliest I have ever been, even with so many people around me. I never wanted another family or person to feel that alone."Carrying the Baton in 2023 was an incredible day. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I belonged and that's why I knew we had to bring the Baton to the Fylde Coast."Also taking part in the Blackpool route is May Cunningham from Bispham who will be walking for her daughter Melissa who was 30 years old when she took her own life in August 2024. She said she was "so honoured that her brother and I are going to be side by side to help publicise this huge silent killer that is devastating to millions of people". Karen Strong is a local suicide survivor who said she applied to walk in the Baton of Hope "as living proof of hope after coming back from the absolute depths of despair and here I am living life, loving life, volunteering, having fun, enjoying my family and my first grandchild." She added: "I want to carry it for me because I am proud of how far I have come from how low I was, and I want to carry it for other people to give them hope that it doesn't matter how dark and bleak life can be, you can come back from it and start living again." Nurses Claire Hickson and Vicki Lang, from the SWAN End of Life Bereavement Service, based at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, are also involved and said it "means a lot" to be asked to take part."Anything that reduces the stigma, raises awareness, gets people talking about their feelings and also highlights what support is available for people, can only be a good thing," Ms Hickson said. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC's Action Line. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.