Anti-psychotic drugs contributed to death of man with mental health history, inquest hears

A man died after a build up of side effects from a drug he was taking to treat his paranoid schizophrenia led to his organs failing, an inquest heard.

John Warren had battled mental health problems since his early 20s. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 1988, a jury at Manchester coroners court heard.

He was moved to the Priory psychiatric hospital at Cheadle Royal hospital in 2000, where he had been ever since.

Tragically, though, side-effects from a drug - clozapine - caused internal problems and, after he was not able to have surgery at Wythenshawe Hospital, he died a few days later.

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Concerns over John's care leading up to his death at the Priory and Wythenshawe hospital have been raised by assistant coroner Ms Angharad Davies, which the jury will make conclusion of. His treatment with clozapine and its side effects as well as John not having the surgical procedure were also raised.

The inquest heard John had been prescribed the drug clozapine for his paranoid schizophrenia, described as being a drug used in the ‘last resort’ when other medication doesn’t have the required effect.

He is said to have managed his mental health ‘reasonably well’ at the Priory, where he was monitored on a daily basis.

Dr Sheetal Rajashankar, a consultant psychiatrist at the Priory, described to the jury that Clozapine has a number of side effects, including causing constipation.

“It’s a very effective drug but does come with side effects,” Dr Rajashankar said.

John had a number of physical health problems in his time at the Priory, including testicular cancer and pneumonia, as well as known side effects from clozapine.

The jury was