A review of the Manx Drug and Alcohol Team’s (DAT) waiting times is being urged by the Coroner of Inquests.

The call was made by John Needham as he gave a verdict at the inquest of a 23-year-old man, found by his parents with no signs of life in his bedroom following a drug overdose.

Mr Needham told the court on Tuesday (November 20) that he will present recommendations to Health Minister David Ashford following concerns that were brought to light during the inquest into Alexander (Alex) Robert Brown’s death.

Speaking to family members and others present at the hearing, Mr Needham said he hoped steps to improve the service will be made ’sooner rather than later’ to prevent another case like Mr Brown’s from occurring.

’If Alex had been seen early there’s no guarantee that things could’ve been different... but it may have drawn him away from the drug use,’ he said.

Mr Brown, originally from Pontefract in West Yorkshire, died at his home in Port Erin from postural asphyxia and toxicity due to heroin use, the inquest heard.

His death took place in the early hours of May 23, the same day he was due to attend an appointment with the DAT. Mr Brown had been receiving support from advisory service Motiv8 since 2016 to help beat his dependence on heroin.

However, both he and his key worker decided on a referral to the DAT as Mr Brown’s dependence on the drug had become stronger in recent months.

This was made in late April and an appointment was scheduled with the DAT four weeks later.

On the day of the meeting, Mr Brown’s body was discovered in the evening by his parents who called the emergency services.

Evidence was given by police officers first on the scene at Bradda Road who said that Mr Brown was lying in a foetal position on the floor on top of a loop belt. They described a syringe being in his room along with other drug paraphernalia.

A toxicology report showed he had taken various substances including morphine, diazepam and methadone. However, the strength of heroine was recorded as higher than the other chemicals.

Police said that the heroin they had found in his room was classed as 33% strength and the average street level at that time was said to be around 21.5%. The drug’s source is unknown.

The family of the deceased provided a statement to the Coroner saying that Mr Brown had been in a good mood the day before as he was optimistic that a replacement opium drug would be prescribed to him at his meeting with the DAT.

Mr Brown was said to have ’a fragile sense of self’ and had told those close to him, including his key worker whom he had regular contact with, that he used drugs ’to feel normal’.

He had previously received support from the DAT in 2016, but often cancelled appointments which were scheduled at the Bradda Resource Centre.

Strained

It was said that he did not want to be seen going into the centre, which he lived near to, in case someone recognised him and attached negative stigma to him as a drug user. His missed appointments meant that he was discharged from the service.

Consultant psychiatrist of the DAT, Dr Kirsten Wafer, attended the hearing where she provided a statement and answered the questions of the coroner and Mr Brown’s family.

She called Mr Brown a ’pleasant young man who made good eye contact’, but was also a ’shy’ individual.

When asked why he had been given a four week wait, Dr Wafer replied that resources at the DAT were strained due to cuts in finances and being down on two key workers.

The DAT and Motiv8 services are currently six months into a two-year review.

Dr Wafer suggested that a way of easing the demand on the team was to train GPs to help ’stable drug users’.

In their statement, Mr Brown’s family said that he had once asked his GP for valium which is commonly used to treat anxiety and alcohol withdrawal symptoms to help him ’lead a normal life’.

This was denied due to his drug taking, which the family believed to be unfair. They told the court that they were ’proud that he kept on trying’ to break his habit.

After recording a verdict of death by dependence on drugs, Mr Needham said: ’I’m making a recommendation that the Health Minister needs to look into the waiting times for persons in Alex’s circumstances so they can be seen more quickly, in a matter of days rather than in weeks.

’I’m hoping that the steps could be taken sooner rather than later. Not after two years but as soon as possible.

He added that ’everyone injecting themselves with heroine is at risk’, especially when it’s with varying amounts and the person has no ability to check the quality of the drug.

The Coroner sent his condolences to family and friends of Mr Brown who were ’flying the flag for Alex’ at the Douglas courts.