After the tragic death of Thomas Kingston, the husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor, a senior coroner issued a warning regarding the use of medication to treat depression. Kingston took his own life on February 25th, 2024, dying from a head injury at his parents’ home in the Cotswolds. A gun was found close to his body, and the inquest heard that Mr. Kingston had stopped taking his medication in the days leading up to his death.
Mr. Kingston, who was 45 years old, had been suffering from stress at work when he was prescribed both sertraline and zopiclone by a GP at the Royal Mews Surgery. He later returned to the same surgery, stating that these were not offering him any benefits and hence, his doctor moved him to citalopram, another similar drug. Ms. Skerrett questioned the current guidance to persist with SSRIs and whether to switch to an alternative SSRI medication was reasonable when no benefits had been achieved.
In her prevention of future deaths report, senior coroner Katy Skerrett stated that action must be taken regarding the risk to patients prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medications. She questioned whether patients were being made aware of the risks associated with such medications, particularly if no benefits were being seen and adverse side effects were being experienced.
The report has been sent to various authorities, including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, and the Royal College of General Practitioners, with a 56-day deadline for response. The tragedy of Mr. Kingston’s death has raised important questions about the usage of SSRIs, with the hopes that his death can lead to significant change in depression medication regimes so that people can avoid such a crucial outcome. If anyone has been affected by the issues in this story, help and support is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline
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