![\"Jamie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_jamiebrrgi.jpg\")
<\/p>\nJamie was a talented joiner who loved spending time with his family<\/p>\n
06:45, 22 May 2026Updated 19:24, 22 May 2026<\/p>\n
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Jamie with friend Henrietta Day (Image: Facebook)<\/p>\n
Medics at a mental health unit made a string of errors weeks before a much-loved son and brother took his own life, an inquest has heard.<\/p>\n
Jamie Briggs had suffered from severe Crohn’s Disease for several years and had become “disillusioned and feeling hopeless” prior to his tragic death on November 21 last year. He suffered from regular infections and had undergone around 14 operations to treat the symptoms of the incurable disease.<\/p>\n
The 40-year-old, from Billington near Clitheroe<\/a>, had been struggling to sleep in the weeks before he died and had started to “self-medicate” with cannabis. On October 17 last year, police found Jamie acting bizarrely on the roundabout of a busy 40mph road.<\/p>\n He told officers that “people were after him” and that he hadn’t had a drink for three days because he believed that someone had “messed with his water” and that murderers were trying to kill him.<\/p>\n Jamie, a talented joiner, was detained under the Mental Health Act and was initially taken to the Royal Blackburn<\/a> Hospital before being transferred to The Harbour in Blackpool<\/a>. The Harbour, run by Lancashire<\/a> and South Cumbria<\/a> NHS<\/a> Foundation Trust, is a mental health unit where individuals can be assessed under the Mental Health Act to determine if they should be detained for their own safety.<\/p>\n When Jamie first arrived at The Harbour he complained about ongoing pain in his legs and blood tests showed his white blood cell count was raised; an indication of an infection. A urine sample also confirmed the presence of cannabis.<\/p>\n The Harbour in Blackpool(Image: Lancs Live)<\/p>\n However, when Jamie was formally assessed by three practitioners under the Mental Health Act, he had settled down and doctors concluded he was fit to be discharged. Staff at The Harbour failed to send a letter to his GP, as is policy, and also failed to arrange any follow-up for the blood test results or refer him to community mental health services as is standard practice.<\/p>\n On November 19 last year Jamie went with his sister and mum to see his GP, Dr Rebecca Thornber, at the Sabden & Whalley Medical Group. However, Dr Thornber had not received any letter from The Harbour, and did not believe he was at risk of harming himself although she advised his family to take control of his medication as he had taken a double dose that day in a bid to get some sleep.<\/p>\n Later that day, at his home, Jamie’s sister said he appeared “subdued and expressed feelings of hopelessness”. She returned to her own home to make some food for Jamie and when she got back to his house she found their mum struggling to get into his room.<\/p>\n When they got inside, Jamie was unresponsive, and was taken to the Royal Blackburn Hospital by ambulance. He sadly died two days later having suffered a severe hypoxic brain injury.<\/p>\n An inquest into Jamie’s death started yesterday (May 21) at Preston Coroners’ Court. In statements his family described him as “larger than life” and enjoyed travelling abroad with his dad to watch Celtic.<\/p>\n Arnab Bhowmick, a Consultant Colorectal and General Surgeon at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, explained to the court<\/a> that Crohn’s Disease is a “relentless cycle of inflammation” which is understood to be linked to the immune system.<\/p>\n Mr Bhowmick said that, when he saw Jamie in June 2025, he was “very fed up, disillusioned with the treatment”. “We can dampen it down and knock it back but there is no cure,” he said.<\/p>\n “It’s relentless. There is a feeling of hopelessness in patients because they know it’s not going to go away. Jamie was fed up and he was angry.”<\/p>\n We’re here to help<\/p>\n You don’t have to suffer in silence if you’re struggling with your mental health.<\/p>\n Here are some groups you can contact:<\/p>\n Samaritans: Phone 116 123, 24 hours a day, or email jo@samaritans.org<\/a>, in confidence.<\/p>\n Childline: Phone 0800 1111. Calls are free and won’t show up on your bill.<\/p>\n PAPYRUS: Suicide prevention charity offering professional help and support to children, young people and anyone concerned for someone struggling with life. Call HOPELINEUK on 0800 068 4141, text 07860 039 967 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Depression Alliance: A charity for people with depression. No helpline, but it offers useful resources and links to other information.<\/p>\n Students Against Depression: A website for students who are depressed, have low mood, or are suicidal. Click here to visit<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bullying UK: A website for both children and adults affected by bullying. Click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM): For young men who are feeling unhappy. There is a helpline: 0800 58 58 58 or visit the website<\/a>.<\/p>\n The inquest also heard from registered mental health nurse Sarah Hartley who works for LSCFT and had reviewed Jamie’s notes from his admission to The Harbour in October 2025. She explained that a discharge letter would normally be put onto the electronic system and sent to a patient’s GP but “this wasn’t done” in Jamie’s case.<\/p>\n Medics at The Harbour had concluded that Jamie’s psychosis was drug-induced as a result of him using cannabis. “As per our trust policy we make referrals to the [mental health] home treatment team but no referral was done for Jamie,” she said.<\/p>\n Area Coroner Emma Mather asked: “Why not?”<\/p>\n Ms Hartley responded: “I can’t answer that question.”<\/p>\n The coroner said she found it “very concerning” that the trust’s Rapid Learning Review, carried out after Jamie’s death to ascertain if any learning could be undertaken as a result, did not “pick up” that no referral or GP letter had been sent.<\/p>\n “There are a number of missed opportunities to support him,” the coroner said. “This information is coming out here today and it’s disappointing for me to hear that today. I can’t imagine how the family must be feeling now.<\/p>\n “It does concern me that the referral to the home treatment team never happened and I am keen to understand why that fell down.<\/p>\n “Jamie’s clearly a complex person with lots of different issues and I feel a lot of what I am seeing relies on joined-up care and professionals talking to one another. If that isn’t happening it doesn’t fill me with confidence.”<\/p>\n The inquest, which continues, is due to conclude on Friday May 22.<\/p>\n Join our LancsLive WhatsApp group<\/p>\n LancsLive now has its very own WhatsApp community to deliver the latest news straight to your phone.<\/p>\n Breaking news, opinion and top stories are being sent directly to our community and we want you to be part of it. Get the latest news as it breaks from across Lancashire<\/a>. Users who want to join must have WhatsApp downloaded to their phone.<\/p>\n All you have to do to join is click on this link<\/a>, select ‘Join Community’ and you’re in. 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