A dad-of-three who tragically took his own life after struggling with his mental health has been described as “amazing and devoted” by his devastated family.

Andrew Cooper leaves behind three children, Isaac, Madeline and Evan, and his wife Abigail, who said his daughter and two sons “meant the world to him”.

The 31-year-old died on March 2 last year after battling with poor mental health, an inquest has heard.

His wife told the inquest: “Andy was the most amazing dad. His children were his whole life and meant the world to him. Andy and I were childhood sweethearts and best friends. He supported everything I did and always put me first. He was very close to his family, he worked alongside them in the family business and Andy and his brother were best friends.”

A dedicated Middlesbrough FC fan, Andrew worked as a contracts manager for family business Ultimate Windows, reports Teesside Live. He was previously a surveyor.

Towards the end of 2021, Andy was struggling with his mental health and had spoken with his GP. Self-referring for further mental health support, Andy had an assessment appointment scheduled for December 22. Assistant coroner Karin Welsh heard how Andy and Abigail had separated but remained close friends and, for some time, stayed living in their Wynyard home together with their three children.

Just over a week before his appointment, he was assessed by Tees Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust at Roseberry Park Hospital, a mental health hospital in Middlesbrough. It followed an incident at his home where police were called due to concerns for his welfare on December 13. Andy was further assessed through the intensive home treatment team.

Steven Atkinson, a community psychiatric nurse at TEWV, said: “I met him on our final day of involvement. It was noted throughout our involvement there had been improvement. There had been a medication review, he was sleeping better and his appetite had improved.”

Concerns were raised at the time regarding a decision to discharge Andrew on December 27, just a day before a wedding Abigail was due to attend, which she worried could cause Andy some distress. But Mr Atkinson said that, having spoken to Andy, he didn’t feel as though there were any concerns.

The next day, Abigail called the intensive home treatment team about a series of messages she had received from Andy. But the trust could find no record of the calls when a serious incident investigation into his care was carried out.

While the trust’s report found no significant failings, it did highlight a number of lessons learned from the care Andrew received. These include how neither Andrew nor his family were given a written version of his care plan; confusion around the different parts of the service; long waiting times for access to further non TEWV-operated services and how the minimum standard for record keeping had not been adhered to – in relation to the undocumented calls.

Giving evidence, Jane O’Neil, a mental health nurse who was the service manager for the crisis team at the time, outlined a number of actions taken as a result of the report including a new leaflet explaining the Tees service as well as a new quality assurance policy to look at issues such as ensuring written care plans are handed out.

She also said that, going forward, the trust could also look to record phone conversations. 

Abigail added: “Everyone had a nice word to say about Andy. He was so kind-hearted and would do anything for anybody. He had an extremely close group of friends who he had grown up with.

“Andy was a gentleman with a kind nature and a fabulous sense of humour. He loved football – supported Middlesbrough Football Club – and enjoyed watching and playing darts. He is missed so much by everyone and our lives have not and will never be the same without him.”

Andrew had previously spoken to his GP about dealing with low moods in 2015, 2016 and 2018. Speaking at the inquest, Abigail, who is mum to Andy’s three children, said the pair had reconciled in the new year and were trying to make their relationship work. She described how the loving dad had cared for her when she fell ill with covid and it felt as though they were getting the “old Andy back”.

But following an out-of-character incident, Andy texted Abigail, who was unavailable due to a work commitment, about wanting to “free her”. She didn’t see the message until some time later. Tragically, Andy had taken his own life.

Karin Welsh said there is no causal link between Andy’s death and the care he received from TEWV. She concluded that Andy, of Billingham, died from suicide.

Abigail told Teesside Live: “Andrew is always and will always be missed. Throughout this devastating year we have had lots of support from friends and family but are hugely thankful to The Headlight Project for all the work they do.”

She added that she hope the actions that the trust have put in place will help other families.

Patrick Scott, managing director of the Durham, Tees Valley and Forensics care group at the trust, said: “Our thoughts are with Andrew’s family during this difficult time. We completed a review of Andrew’s care and treatment to understand and address areas where we could improve. While the learning we found did not contribute to Andrew’s death, we will continue to improve our services to make sure we are providing the best possible care to the people we support.”

Samaritans (116 123) samaritans.org operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. If you prefer to write down how you’re feeling, or if you’re worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at [email protected] , write to Freepost RSRB-KKBY-CYJK, PO Box 9090, STIRLING, FK8 2SA and visit www.samaritans.org/branches to find your nearest branch.

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