A 21-YEAR-OLD man was ‘let down’ by NHS mental health services in the lead up to his death, a coroner’s court heard this week.

Former Sir John Deane’s College student Matthew Bates, from Whiston Close, Winsford died of a drug overdose on September 2, 2016.

An inquest into his death was heard at Crewe Coroner’s Court on Monday, February 27.

The court heard that Matthew suffered from chronic back pain and when his prescribed painkillers stopped being enough to cope with the pain, he turned to ordering diazepam on the internet.

He also suffered from depression and anxiety and when he began to have seizures due to his diabetes, he had his driving licence revoked. This saw him lose his job as a delivery driver and fall into a deeper depression.

The court heard that Matthew, who had a history of self-harm, turned to mental health service ‘Gateway’, run by the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership (CWP) and told them he needed help.

This service referred him to a separate service named ‘Turning Point’, which in turn referred him back to Gateway.

After reviewing the evidence, coroner Jean Harkin stated that ‘it seems he was being passed from one service to another without anything being done.’ Matthew’s mum, Julie, said at the inquest: “With a bit of help, Matthew would probably still be here. The service let him down time and time again.

“He was asking for help but they just saw him as a daft kid.”

He was also deemed to be disengaging with the service for missing an appointment, when he did not attend due to being in hospital following a seizure.

Sarah Pearce represented CWP at the inquest.

She agreed that the service had let Matthew down and said an action plan had been proposed to consult better with GPs and ensure it does not happen again.

Ms Harkin said: “It’s concerning that young people are accessing services and when they reach these services they feel let down.

"But it’s encouraging that those investigating these services when a death does occur, are acting on trying to prevent the same things happening in the future.”

Ms Harkin said that Matthew’s death was due to a lethal dose of pregabalin, prescribed for anxiety.

She stated that there was not sufficient evidence to record a verdict of suicide.

She instead decided his death was due to misadventure, meaning he purposely took the drug without intending harm.