Doctors repeatedly failed to follow-up with depressed England cricket legend Graham Thorpe after he missed a string of appointments despite acknowledging he was at ‘high risk of suicide’ in the weeks before he took his own life, an inquest heard.
The Surrey batsman was not seen once in the final four-and-a-half months of his life by the psychiatrist in charge of his care, and twice at all by any of his local support team, despite making repeated references to suicidal thoughts as his mental health plummeted.
And the team admitted Thorpe’s lack of engagement with the mental health professionals – missing six appointments in two months – was as a result of his worsening depression after being sacked from his job as a coach by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), rather than from being ‘obstructive’ to those trying to help him.
Indeed Thorpe’s depression remained classified as ‘moderate’ – the middle of three in the seriousness scale – right until his death in August last year, in spite of showing clear signs that his condition was worsening.
Medical notes described how Thorpe felt ‘shame and humiliation going from a high-profile, knighted captain of the England cricket team to then publicly losing his position’ and a failed suicide attempt months after the sacking from the ECB in 2022, so he ‘certainly has a worrying propensity for significant risk to self’.
An assessment by his new mental health care coordinator in May that year revealed Thorpe ‘at times presents as high risk of suicide’, which the Thorpe family’s lawyer Mark McGhee said demonstrated the fallen sportsman was ‘crying out for a face-to-face assessment’.
Yet Dr Amirthalingham Baheerathan, Thorpe’s consultant psychiatrist at Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, told the inquest he did not think it was necessary to conduct a home visit.
The inquest heard Thorpe’s previous care coordinator, Jessica Harris, had worked hard to establish trust with her patient, and would arrange to visit him at home if he ever felt unwell enough to attend. It meant Thorpe rarely missed appointments with her.
Yet the inquest in Woking today heard she had left her role in February 2024, and Thorpe’s attendance at meetings plummeted.
His family said Thorpe was demonstrating the classic symptoms of depression – he was not eating, was losing weight, had struggled to find motivation, could see no future for himself, and was often unable to engage with support services.
Ms Harris’ replacement, Katie Johnson, managed to speak with Amanda, Thorpe’s wife of 17 years, on June 28 and reported his condition had deteriorated still further.
In her note to colleagues, Ms Johnson wrote: ‘He cannot get out of bed, constantly asking [Amanda] to help him end his life.
‘Amanda said he has really tried but he cannot get over what he did,’ deemed to be a possible reference to either losing his job or his failed suicide attempt.
She addedd: ‘He is so sure nothing is going to work, he has convinced her it’s cruel to go on, he wants to go to Switzerland,’ in reference to the Dignitas euthanasia clinic.
Dr Baheerathan denied the suggestion from Mr McGhee that this showed Thorpe was planning to end his life, requiring an urgent escalation in his care.
‘It was not a plan, it’s a thought,’ the psychiatrist said. ‘He has to go on the flight, make several arrangements. It’s just a thought he shared with his wife.’
The next recorded appointment for Thorpe to see anyone was on August 9.
He killed himself five days earlier by throwing himself in front of a train. He was aged 55.
The clinician told investigators after Thorpe’s death that the patient’s presentation was ‘not unusual’.
In total there were 35 days between that report and Thorpe’s death, and during that time he was not seen by any member of the care team.
But Dr Baheerathan admitted he was in awe of ‘legend’ Thorpe as a cricket fan growing up in Sri Lanka and wanted to help him, describing him as a ‘gentleman’.
He said that in ‘a severe emergency there were other means for the client or family to contact’.
He added: ‘In hindsight I could have said we could have done an appointment.’
The inquest already heard how Thorpe begged his wife to help him die as his mental health ‘spiralled’.
Mrs Thorpe said her husband struggled with Covid lockdowns, and then with being sacked by the ECB after a disastrous Ashes tour.
She said her husband’s mental health got so bad he thought it would be better for his family – including adult daughters Kitty and Emma – if he was dead.
The grief-stricken widow previously told Thorpe’s inquest: ‘The weeks leading up to his death, he told me he doesn’t want to be here any more. He asked me to help him end his life. I was in turmoil.
‘Then we get a letter for an appointment [with the medical team] in a month’s time.
‘How ill do you have to be? I just wish he could have been kept safe.’
Thorpe played 100 Tests and 82 ODIs for England between 1993 and 2005, and was a coach during the 2021-22 Ashes series in , which England lost 4-0.
A video of the team and their n counterparts on a night out after a heavy England defeat was later leaked. Thorpe told his wife he was ‘distraught’ because he had filmed the video, though he did not make it public.
He was subsequently sacked, although the ECB said Thorpe was not the only member of staff to lose their job, and suggested the decision was down to the team’s woeful performance.
Mrs Thorpe described how ‘there were no psychological issues’ until Covid struck in 2020, which she said her husband did not find easy to cope with.
Thorpe’s father Geoff, 83, agreed, adding: ‘Everything was fine until Covid’.’
Referring to the Covid restrictions, he said: ‘He’s not a fella who likes to be cooped up.’
Mr Thorpe Sr described how his son’s ‘life came crashing down’ when he lost his job with the ECB.
The inquest, which opened in Woking on Wednesday, heard Thorpe’s low mood and lack of motivation linked to his mental health meant that he did not always attend healthcare appointments, he would increase or decrease medication, and would sometimes drink alcohol excessively.
Mrs Thorpe said: ‘He told me he was scared, and I told him I was scared too because I didn’t know how to help him.’
The coroner described how Thorpe, who had two children, Henry and Amelia, from a previous relationship, left the family home on the morning of August 4 2024 and was not seen alive again.
Referring to Mrs Thorpe’s witness statement, he said: ‘You had been upstairs on the phone and Graham had gone out.
‘You thought he had gone to walk the dog but then you saw the dog. You tried to locate him using your phone but weren’t able to do that.
‘Then you got a call from Geoff telling you: he’s gone.’
The former batsman, who spent his entire county career with his home club Surrey, will be honoured during the final Test match of England’s series against India at The Oval on August 1 to raise awareness of mental health.
The inquest continues.
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