A DAUGHTER has told an inquest how her desperate dad fell to his knees in tears when a second attempt to see a psychiatrist face-to-face failed.

Widower Eric Sutcliffe, who was found hanging at his home in Truncliffe, Wibsey on February 23 this year, was still waiting to see a mental health specialist more than one month his GP had urgently referred him to Bradford District Care Trust for help.

Speaking after yesterday's inquest in Bradford, Yvonne Hanson said her dad had been left feeling worthless and begging for help before he took his own life.

The 69-year-old, who had never got over his wife's death 13 years before and had struggled to cope with alleged bullying from new neighbours, was a proud man who had never had to ask for help from anyone before in his life, she said.

"I had reassured dad he did not need to feel ashamed and would get the help he needed from the professionals but it never happened. I felt he was being made to beg. He felt he had been lowered to that level. He felt worthless, dropping to his knees when a web-cam link with a psychiatrist failed, crying why won't they help me?" she said.

The inquest heard how a postcode and time mix-up led to the first failed home visit by consultant psychiatrist Shubhra Singh and it happened again when a web-cam link between her and Mr Sutcliffe never went ahead because the Trust's IT system was not set up for external links.

During the inquest, Mrs Hanson accused the psychiatrist, who had prescribed Mr Sutcliffe with medication without having ever seen him, of being hostile to her on the phone. Dr Singh, who holds numerous portfolio responsibilities at the Trust and is doing a masters in NHS leadership and management, said she had a pressured workload at the time and her department was understaffed.

On one occasion Mrs Hanson, desperate for help, had telephoned the Trust's Crisis Team at Lynfield Mount only to be advised to ring 101 for help instead.

Coroner Oliver Longstaff said although the Trust's actions had not directly contributed to Mr Sutcliffe's death, there were concerns that leapt out.

Those concerns included the Trust not explaining to Mr Sutcliffe and his family why a new home appointment had not been re-arranged after the first failed attempt, the reason why the web-cam link had not worked had also never been detailed.

There was also a lack of empathy from the consultant psychiatrist which hampered communications and a complete picture of Mrs Hanson's interaction with the Trust had not been fully recorded in such a way it could be accessed by Trust staff. There was also limbo between February 5 and February 21 when there appeared to be no effective communication. A letter dated February 11 confirming an appointment on February 24 did not arrive until February 21.

The Trust did carry out a serious incident investigation and changes have been made to offer a more robust service which is now fully staffed.

Mrs Hanson will be meeting with the Trust's Chief Executive Simon Large on Friday.