THE mum of a man who committed suicide hours after discharging himself from hospital has spoken of her relief after getting a letter of apology from the NHS Trust.

An inquest, which was held at Trowbridge Coroner’s Court in 2010, found that 34-year-old writer Luke Bitmead had taken his own life on October 27, 2006, while suffering depression.

Luke had been admitted to Great Western Hospital four days before his death, after he took an overdose and was being treated for liver damage.

His mother, Elaine Hanson, had stayed by his bedside until the early hours of the morning on October 27, when she was advised to go home to try to get a few hours of sleep.

Shortly after she left, Luke discharged himself from the hospital’s intensive care unit.

He then took a taxi to the car park and fell to his death soon afterwards.

Wiltshire and Swindon coroner David Ridley delivered a written judgement at the hearing.

He said that staff at GWH, who allowed Luke to leave dressed only in his pyjamas hours before the fall, had not systematically failed him but admitted that there were questions that needed to be answered.

Elaine, a psychodynamic counsellor from Southrop, and her husband Chris vowed since Luke’s death that they would find out why he died and press for changes to the NHS to prevent other parents having to go through the same ordeal.

Elaine said: “I was never looking to blame, I just want improvements made and more understanding to reduce the stigma attached to mental health.

“My husband and I have had to be strong through this whole process, when many others might have given in, and I hope as a result of this other families will never have to go through the pain we went through.

“I was determined to turn my tragedy into something positive for other families.

“The biggest mistake was that he was allowed to leave the hospital and even escorted off the premises.

“We had to wait more than five years to have someone say sorry – it is just a huge relief and we can now move forward and celebrate his life.”

GWH has said that since Luke’s death lessons had been learnt and in a letter to Elaine and Chris from chief executive Nerissa Vaughn, dated October 20 last year, they apologised for mistakes made.

A spokesperson for Great Western Hospitals NHS Found-ation Trust said: “Since Luke’s death as a Trust we have made significant improvements to the way we support and manage patients with mental health needs in the hospital.

“These include a significant programme of training for clinical staff on the Mental Health and Mental Capacity Acts and stronger links with other agencies and organisations involved in caring for people with mental health needs.”