An inquest has heard how a doctor told a successful businessman fighting alcoholism that he should continue drinking six pints of lager a day - eight days before he hanged himself.
Stephen Appleton, 51, had given up drinking for a few days and was 'feeling hopeful' after years of battling depression and alcohol addiction. But when he saw his GP Dr Vikash Patel on April 4 last year he was told abstaining could kill him and he should resume his habit of drinking six pints of strong lager a day. Eight days later he was found hanged at his home in Windsor, Berkshire.
The hearing heard Mr Appleton worked in investment banking for 15 years in London but was made redundant in 2009. He moved back to his native Australia in 2010 and took on his father's business of helping people in financial difficulty, but each bankrupted client 'took a part of him' and he started to get depressed and drinking heavily in 2016 before moving back to the UK in January 2018 where he started attending alcoholics anonymous.
She told the coroner how by April 2 last year Mr Appleton had managed to go cold turkey for a number of days.
Assistant Berkshire Coroner Alison McCormick asked Dr Patel, who practised at the Lee House Surgery in Windsor, to explain why he had encouraged the alcoholic man to drink again.
Dr Patel said: 'Stephen had reduced his alcohol intake, had been abstaining for two or three days. My understanding at the time is that he was consuming somewhere in the region of six pints a day before.
'We had a discussion about the risks of alcohol withdrawal symptoms, my main concerns were with respect to withdrawal seizures, which can potentially be fatal.
'I was told that his alcohol consumption should be reverted back to original levels and reduced by 10 per cent per week. I felt that to be reasonable or he would have run the risk of potentially fatal consequences.'
Dr Patel told the inquest he was following generic advice from Slough-based Turning Point, an alcohol management team, which he conveyed to Mr Appleton, who seemed to agree, though he admitted his partner did not.
Dr Patel said of the telephone conversation on April 11: 'Initially I was concerned but once Stephen told me that it hadn't taken place I was still concerned but knew that he had been referred and safety net advice had already been given. Stephen hadn't expressed any thoughts of self-harm or suicide before.'
The doctor said he had given Ms Smith a list of numbers to call, including a crisis team for mental health and Talking Therapies. Inquest continues.
