Peaks challenge has a heart-felt message

A POLICE officer has gathered togther a group to tackle the Three Peaks Challenge in memory of his brother-in-law who took his life while taking anti-depressants.

Jon Frankell, heads up the intrepid party who will tackle Ben Nevis, Scafel Pike and Snowdon on Saturday to raise money for mental health charity Mind.

Unfortunately, Jon has been forced to pull out of the climbs after suffering a broken foot but has still been central to the fundraising efforts.

Former British Aerospace inspector Peter Needham died at his home in Bateson Drive, Springhead, in November, 2010.

A sociable and popular man, 40-year-old Mr Needham had been diagnosed with diabetes in the March of that year.

He was then prescribed a drug to deal with a tingling sensation in his foot but the medication, duloxetine, is also used as an antidepressant and has been linked with suicidal thoughts.

After voicing concerns about feeling down he was prescribed a different antidepressant, sertraline, just five days before his death.

It was discovered only two days after taking the drug, that lists suicidal thoughts as a side-effect, he had visited several websites on how to take his own life.

Mr Needham was at the time recovering from a split with his girlfriend, but his family said they did not think he intended to kill himself.

Jon said: “There is naturally a stigma attached to people who take their own life.

“There’s a long-standing debate about the effect of prescription drugs on people that suffer from depression and we want to make people aware of the dangers.

“Some side effects do give cause for concern and there is some information on labels that raise questions.

“We want to show that it is better in the long run to ask questions and show support to people who suffer from depression because if people have that support network and close family around them it will help to tackle the problems they are fighting.”

Coroner Simon Nelson recorded a narrative verdict at an inquest in 2011 that Mr Needham had taken his own life while the balance of his mind was disturbed.

But he said it was difficult to ignore the link between him taking the medication and his subsequent death, and wrote to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the British Medical Association to raise his concerns about labelling within prescribed medication.

To donate to the cause, visit www.justgiving.com/3-peaks-for-pete.