THE daughter of a Widnes man who hanged himself whilst being treated for mental health problems hopes lessons will be learned after the NHS has admitted failings in his care.

William Jones, aged 64, was found hanging at his home on August 15, last year by his daughter, Linda Devaney.

He had tried to take his own life more than 20 years earlier and had a history of mental illness including paranoid delusions and depression.

Two days before his death, Linda saw her dad at her mum's house and was very concerned that he was discussing the recent suicide of Robin Williams.

He was also paranoid about how she had known he was there.

Linda, aged 46, from Widnes, said: “I had been concerned about his state of mind for a while and had told medical experts that we were worried about him.

“It’s difficult to put it into words but it was simply horrific when I found him.

“The fact that there were failings in his care makes it even more difficult to understand.”

She phoned the Brooker Centre when she last saw her dad and they arranged for someone to visit him 10 days later but it was sadly too late.

An inquest into his death at Warrington on November 18 was adjourned for the coroner to deliver his conclusion at a later date.

A serious untoward incident report by the NHS was critical of the care provided and described the on-call system for psychiatric patients as ‘not fit for purpose’.

Linda instructed specialist medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the care provided to him by 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

The NHS Trust accepted there were failings in the care provided to Mr Jones in August 2014 and the months leading up to this.

In a letter from its solicitors, the NHS stated: “It is accepted that had more appropriate care been provided then his compliance with medication could have more easily been monitored, with a clear contingency plan for intervention at time when the deceased was becoming unwell.”

Linda added: “I’m still trying to come to terms with losing my father.

“I hope that by speaking out it will raise awareness of mental health issues and prompt other people who may either be struggling themselves or concerned about others to seek help.

“We’ve learnt the hard way that improving healthcare for people with mental illness must remain a priority.”

Ayse Ince, a specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing the family, said: “Our client has been left devastated at losing her father in this manner.

"It was incredibly difficult for her to come to terms with the fact that his care was not to an acceptable standard.

“We await the coroner’s conclusion and full recommendations with interest and our client now hopes that lessons will be learned to reduce the risk of similar situations now the NHS Trust has admitted there were failings in his care.

“There has been plenty of discussion in the media in recent years about mental illness and it is important that it remains high on the political agenda so that improvements in healthcare for vulnerable people can continue to be made.”