Calm and peaceful Lancashire man, 46, who loved the outdoors found dead in wooded area
Mental Health professionals should have raised urgent concerns about a 46-year-old Lancashire man who was sadly found dead the following day, a coroner has said.
Andrew Millington was found dead in a wooded area off Valley Road, Penwortham, near Preston, in July 2025.
The previous day he had been visited by a mental health team who failed to act even though his mood was "bleak".
Mr Millington, of Riverside Road, Penwortham, was described as a "calm and peaceful" man who loved the outdoors.
Preston Coroner's Court heard that he had suffered from anxiety since childhood, which was aggravated after he was assaulted as an adult and injured in a car crash.
He suffered brain injuries and had difficulty sleeping. Mr Millington had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act and had also made attempts to kill himself in the past.
His mother Teresa said in a statement to the inquest that her son had suffered with his mental health all his life. He had also struggled with his medication.
Her son was discharged from the Scarisbrick unit at Ormskirk General Hospital in June 2025 and later self-harmed at his home.
Mr Millington was taken to Royal Preston Hospital's accident and emergency unit, but was discharged after treatment.
Ms Millington said she wanted to know who deemed her son to be mentally fit, and also criticised the home visits by mental health professionals.
She said: “He had lost all hope and felt severely let down by the system.”
The inquest heard that Mr Millington was regarded as a high risk patient when admitted to the Scarisbrick unit.
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Bassem Naguib said treating Mr Millington was challenging because he did not suffer from psychosis. He suffered from anxiety made worse by his head injuries.
Dr Naguib said his condition could not be treated by tablets alone, and he eventually allowed Mr Millington to go home because he could not settle on the ward and was sleeping badly.
The inquest heard that Mr Millington was put under the care of a home treatment team. His family complained that when he was visited at home on July 1 the people who attended did not know him.
He left his home later that night and was sadly found dead on July 2.
Recording a narrative conclusion, area coroner Kate Bissett said she felt sure that Mr Millington's death was partly due to his brain injuries.
She said she could find no fault with the treatment he received in the Scarisbrick Unit.
Mr Millington wanted to go home and was allowed to do so, but there was a "serious failing of care" when Mr Millington was discharged from Royal Preston Hospital's accident and emergency department without a full mental health assessment.
Ms Bissett said the home treatment team were faced by a "bleak" presentation by Mr Millington on July 1.
His behaviour should have led to "immediate escalation" and further action to safeguard him.
She said: “This failing contributed to his death occurring at the time it did.”
The coroner said she noted that the hospital trust had now made a number of changes which should ensure that this could not happen again.
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