Mark Shields Tuesday, April 24, 2012
A schizophrenic city man who was turning his life around killed himself after becoming worried at having to return to work, an inquest heard.
Martin Rust, 36, was declared fit to work following a Department of Work and Pensions assessment in September, two months before he was found dead at his home in Parmentergate Court in the city centre on November 21.
Mr Rust, who suffered with hearing voices in his head, left a note saying: “To those I love, I’m sorry. Goodbye.”
Yesterday, his mother and health professionals told an inquest in Norwich the prospect of having to take a job before he felt ready had piled pressure on Mr Rust.
He had been receiving mental health services support since being diagnosed with treatment-resistant schizophrenia in 1998, but was living independently with a strong group of friends and had been clean of drugs since 2005.
“They were the sort of things that the voices would tell him to do,” she said, adding that returning to work had been “extremely” worrying for him.
“I tried to tell him that he wouldn’t be put somewhere where he couldn’t cope.”
Coroner William Armstrong said the DWP’s decision “caused distress and may well have had an adverse effect”, recording that Mr Rust had committed suicide while suffering from a treatment-resistant mental illness.
The Samaritans can be contacted by calling 01603 611311 or 08457 909090, or you can email jo@samaritans.org
I have filled in a benefit fraud form…DWP high up civil servants stealing money from disabled. Do not know what else to do. I get so angry I want to kill them.