The Helsby vet who put himself to sleep

Jun 4 2009 By Naomi Dunning

Father of two with history of depression took deadly overdose of drugs at practice

A successful vet phoned the ambulance service as he injected himself with a lethal dose of drug to tell them his body could be found at his Chester practice, an inquest heard.

Garry William Stanway, 39, of Bates Lane, Helsby, killed himself in his Vets4Pets practice on Brook Lane on the evening of November 18.

The father of two young children injected himself with a lethal dose of phenobarbital – a drug used to help animals suffering with seizures.

The inquest heard as he did so, he called North West Ambulance Service and told operator Jean Lamont there was a dead body in the office.

When she asked if he was with the patient, he replied "I am the patient.

"I will be by the time you get here".

Warrington Coroners Court heard the vet, who had lectured on veterinary anaesthesia and had opened his Chester practice in February, 2008, had a long history of depression.

He had told his wife Samantha, who ran the practice with him in Chester, that he had a preoccupation with suicidal thoughts and in 2003 had written a suicide note and left it in the house.

Veterinary nurse Marion Addison, who worked at the practice, said in a statement "you could not meet a nicer man" but said he was "a glass half empty kind of person" and needed reminding that he was doing well.

The inquest heard he was being treated for his depression and attended regular counselling sessions, but had two serious breakdowns during his life and in 2001 had got to the stage where he had put a cannula in his hand but had taken no further action.

The weekend before his death he had been to a Vets4Pets award ceremony, and the practice had won an award for its customer service.

On the day of his death his colleague described him as being in a ‘good mood’, but that evening he took drugs from his practice and injected himself with a lethal dose.

Assistant deputy coroner Geoffrey Roberts recorded a verdict of suicide.

Wife tells inquest of her husband’s descent to suicide

GARRY Stanway had a long history of depression, the inquest heard.

Born in Redcar, he was a high academic achiever who qualified as a vet 1994 and went to Cambridge to gain a certificate in veterinary anaesthesia.

He met his future wife Samantha whilst working at a veterinary practice in Halifax.

In 2000 Garry suddenly and unexpectedly decided to leave the practice and go to Australia.

Samantha said: "It was very impulsive.

"He turned down a partnership at the practice where we worked and went to work at a university in Australia for around about six months."

The inquest heard that it was while in Australia that his mental health problems took hold.

Samantha said: "He came back from Australia after he had a bit of a breakdown out there."

Dr Kyaw Thet Tun, a Cheshire and Wirral NHS Trust psychiatrist, told the court Mr Stanway had told him it was in Australia that he had many suicidal thoughts and at one point had even carried around a suicide kit containing pills and had put a needle in his hand to start the process.

On his return from Australia he moved to Chester and met Samantha.

At the inquest she told of her shock at finding a suicide note which had been left in a basket in their home in 2003.

She said: "I was shocked he left a note saying where I could find all the finances."

She told the inquest she had spoken to him about it and he had explained to her that he had a preoccupation with suicidal thoughts and had been acting it out.

Garry frequently saw his doctor and was prescribed anti-depressants and counselling.

In 2006 he had a breakdown which Samantha said was a point ‘where he couldn’t get any lower’ and he was admitted to The Priory.

In February 2008 things started to look up and the couple opened up their Vets4Pets practice on Brook Lane.

But by August 2008, things took a turn for the worse and he revealed to his wife that he had been misusing the drug buprenorphene and taking a lot at a time.

Samantha said they talked about it. She said: "He seemed distressed, we were under a lot of strain. He was worried for our future."

The final hours of victim’s life

THE weekend before his death, Garry Stanway had celebrated his practice winning a customer service award at a ceremony in Yorkshire, the inquest heard.

Wife Samantha told the inquest that on the day of his death, Tuesday, November 18, he had cycled to work as usual.

Veterinary nurse Marion Addison said in her statement that he was in a good mood all day and unusually had voluntarily put up the award they received at the weekend on the wall.

He returned home that evening in high spirits.

Samantha said: "He seemed in a very good mood – and then that suddenly changed."

The inquest heard Mr Stanway announced to his wife that he had been thinking of selling the practice.

That evening he spent a long time on the computer and then left the house at 11pm and went to his Vets4Pets practice in Chester.

Samantha said that was the last time she saw him alive.

"He didn’t say anything," she told the hearing.

The North West Ambulance Service received a call from Mr Stanway at 11.38pm that day.

Ambulance service operator Jean Lamont, who took the call, said in a statement: "He said ‘there is a dead body in the office’.

"I asked him if he was with the patient and he replied ‘I am the patient’. He said: ‘When you get here I will be’."

Mr Stanway didn’t say anything more and the phone was put down but not on the hook.

The inquest heard the police arrived at the practice to find his body in the prep room. There was an empty bottle of phenobarbital sodium on the bench and a cannula was in his hand.

A note had been left on the printer which indicated his intent.