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'.
