THE AMBULANCE service did not alert police when they were informed a suicidal man had a firearm, the Isle of Wight Coroner's Court heard this week.

The morning after the phone call, retired engineer David Nurse was found dead at his Gurnard home having shot himself in the head twice. He had also threatened to shoot anyone who came to his house.

IW Coroner Caroline Sumeray slammed the response by the IW Ambulance Service and has since insisted on new protocols.

She said: "This was serious but could have been worse. Someone could have been murdered had they walked through the door.

"The ambulance service should have escalated it appropriately to the police, immediately. This was a massive failure and could have been catastrophic.

"Any reference to a firearm should be considered worthy of an immediate response, but the police were denied the opportunity to investigate.

"We do not know what would have happened if the police had gone round that evening. Mr Nurse may have admitted having a firearm and this could have been averted."

Mr Nurse, 77, of Marsh Road, was found dead by a community nurse on a routine visit on February 1, 2018.

Friends told the BBC he was a former musician and had been a close friend of John Lennon, and that the star was best man at Mr Nurse's wedding.

Mrs Sumeray said: "Mr Nurse had a number of very serious health issues. He was his own worst enemy. He was offered support and care options and would not consider any of them."

"He was by all accounts cantankerous and difficult but he had the most wonderful support network from friends and neighbours and he must have been a character to engender that support."

Mrs Sumeray said Mr Nurse had been a massive drain on resources, making more than 200 calls to the ambulance service, often because he wanted a cup of tea, some company, or some help to get to the toilet.

Friends had previously persuaded him to give up a gun but no-one knew he still had an old pistol.

On January 30 he told delivery man Charles Stevens he had taken 'suicide pills' and would be dead by 6pm. He said if he wasn't dead by then, he would shoot himself and anyone who came to the house.

Mr Stevens informed his mother, who informed Mr Nurse's landlady Caroline Waterstone. She called the ambulance service to say Mr Nurse was suicidal, and called back a second time to tell them about the firearm.

The ambulance service called Mr Nurse who reassured them he was OK. They did not contact the police. The police would have acted immediately had they been alerted to a possible firearms situation, the inquest heard.

Protocol has since been put in place by the IW Ambulance Service to alert the police if there is any suspicion of firearms.

Mrs Sumeray had previously complained to the IW Safeguarding Adult Board for not submitting a report to the inquest in a timely manner.

The inquest into Mr Nurse's death was delayed by more than a year and was listed four times before it eventually went ahead this week.

The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. Mrs Sumeray concluded death by suicide.

The following organisations offer free and confidential support over the phone:

Samaritans -116 123 24 hour support, every day of the year www.samaritans.org

Papyrus  0800 068 41 41 Monday to Friday 10am to 10pm, weekends 2pm to 10pm, bank holidays 2pm to 10pm or Text 0778 620 9697 – prevention of young suicide www.papyrus-uk.org

Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) – 0800 58 58 58, 5pm – midnight. Dedicated to preventing male suicide www.thecalmzone.net

Mind - 0300 123 3393, 9am - 6pm, Mon - Fri (except Bank Holidays). Advises on a range of mental health issues www.mind.org.uk  

Young Minds - 0808 802 5544, 9.30am - 4pm, Mon - Fri. Supports any adult worried about a child’s welfare www.youngminds.org.uk

The Mix - 0808 808 4994, 2pm - 11pm, Mon - Sun. Helpline for people under the age of 25 www.themix.org.uk

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