Doctor demands overhaul of NHS psychiatric care after brother’s death

Exclusive: Katie Sidle warns of more avoidable deaths without major changes after inquest found missed chances to save sibling

A consultant neurologist whose brother died after a series of failures by an NHS mental health trust has warned there will be more avoidable deaths without fundamental reform of psychiatric care.

Dr Katie Sidle’s concerns about the refusal of Norfolk and Suffolk foundation trust (NSFT) to give her brother Christopher, who was psychotic, a crisis admission were repeatedly ignored in the days and weeks before his death last July, a coroner found this month.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.