Man killed on M65 was waiting for hospital bed following mental health assessment

Saqib Hussain Shah died at Royal Preston Hospital on May 23, 2023.

The 20-year-old had a long history of mental illness including psychosis, an inquest at Preston Coroner’s Court heard on Monday (November 20).

His mental health had been deteriorating in the weeks leading up to his death, and his family intervened by arranging a Mental Health Act assessment.

The assessment indicated a need to detain Mr Shah for inpatient hospital treatment.

Whilst waiting for a bed to become available, Mr Shah left his home and entered the carriageway of the M65 near junction 10 (Burnley) on May 22.

Saqib was hit by a vehicle which was unable to stop, causing injuries which resulted in Mr Shah’s death.

The inquest heard it would have been impossible for the driver to avoid Mr Shah.

Area Coroner Kate Bisset said: “Mr Shah entered the carriageway as a result of the psychosis from which he was suffering and not with an intention to take his own life.”

The inquest heard that a new £11.5m in-patient medium secure mental health unit is due to open at the former Calderstones near Whalley.

This will create an additional 32 mental health beds in Lancashire.

Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCft), Emma McGuigan, said: “Our priority will always remain the safety and recovery of our patients and where we do not have a bed to offer, we endeavour to identify suitable alternatives to ensure the individual can receive proper and safe care in a therapeutic environment.

“Where we are not able to provide immediate admission, our community and home treatment teams will provide interim support. We will always try to ensure inpatient admission is as close to home as possible, however, unfortunately, this sometimes means sending a patient outside of the place they live, or indeed the area which we cover, due to availability.

“Bed occupancy remains consistently high in our area, which reflects the national picture and we are working with our health and social care partners, including the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB), to look at new provision so we can offer more places for our patients.

“One example of this is Woodview, an inpatient unit due to open very soon in Whalley, where there will be an additional 32 beds for both male and female patients.

“This follows a multimillion pound transformation of an existing building to bring it up to the standard required of such a facility.”

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust operates an urgent mental health telephone support service, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by calling 0800 953 0110.

Trained clinicians are available to answer calls from people needing immediate advice or assistance, for themselves or a friend or family member.