HEALTH chiefs at an NHS trust which treated a Bury man after he was taken to hospital a month before his death have denied any shortcomings.

Brian Reynolds, known as Alex, died at his home in Rushmere Drive last March.

An inquest into his death resumed at Rochdale Coroner’s Court yesterday.

The court heard he had been with wife Victoria Reynolds since the age of 14 and had enjoyed a successful career selling cars and was always named as a top salesman wherever he worked.

But in 2017 he contracted meningitis which left him suffering migraines every week for up to 36 hours. The illness caused absences from work to develop and during the pandemic he was placed on furlough.

He was later made redundant as his employers said staff absences had to be taken into account.

Mr Reynolds took up another job but in February this year was admitted to the Irwell Unit at Fairfield Hospital, after making an attempt on his own life.

He remained there for around a month but requested his wife not be told about his treatment and medication.

Mr Reynolds, 39, was released in March but began to deteriorate and his wife went to stay with her brother.

She asked friends to go and see him and the alarm was raised, But by the time the emergency services had arrived he was dead.

Mrs Reynolds expressed concerns with GMP, the North West Ambulance Service and the Irwell Unit, run by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust

She said of the trust her husband was “well looked after as an in-patient” but she “did not ever know what medication he should be taking or when” and he only received one follow-up, two days after leaving hospital.

She said he was "discharged without any support for him in the community.”

During the visit she said he was told to contact his GP or Samaritans if his mood deteriorated.

She added: “I feel so disappointed that the ambulance did not go to him for more than four hours.”

She said 90 minutes were wasted trying to phone him before someone else was sent there. And she said their treatment by GMP was “appalling.”

She said she was not informed of an apparent suicide note, which police are said to have held until nine weeks after the death, until she was told by the coroner’s office.

She said this contained a song of theirs and had expressed a wish to be cremated. But in the intervening time he had been buried.

But Ankur Khanna, who treated Mr Reynolds at the Irwell Unit, said a report by the Pennine NHS Foundation Trust said there were no problems in how he was treated.

He said the report said the follow-up care was “well organised and as safe as possible without being restrictive” and he was “referred back to his GP.” It also described the follow-up as “during the appropriate time.”

When asked about why Mrs Reynolds had not been informed about treatment, he said they were unable to break confidentiality. The inquest, before Coroner Matthew Cox, continues.