M ental I llness C oncerns A ll	Phillips was maintained on a depot regime after a relatively short admission period initiated by excitement and grandiose misbeliefs and statements . The working diagnosis was schizophrenia , and he was placed early on a depot regime , a little unusual for a first admission . He subsequently dropped out of depot maintenance and out of contact with services . He was finally found dead and at a Coroner Inquest , death was from - a heart attack - natural causes . The family was concerned that nobody had been in touch with them before the Inquest and their pressure led to an Inquiry - 'into a serious incident '. The Inquiry was critical of his neighbourhood .The Inquiry says some in the neighbourhood knew of his difficulties and should have approached ' the authorities with their information ' . He was black , and the worry was that racial interplay , might have underlaid the poor contact . The Report says ... "although RPh dropped out from staff (contact) he was by no means lost to the community ...he was seen .. here and there ...friends were greatly concerned about his appearance and mental state .... Therefore we feel obliged to point out that some of those who feel that the authorities should have been more active in trying to trace RPh. - had information about his whereabouts , his condition , and his plight , which they could have passed on ..... ... If humane policy of community care is to work then it will at least require the participation of the community .... we consider therefore that those who knew..of RPh. whereabouts and condition ... were mistaken in not coming forward earlier to assist the authorities in his care" . This Inquiry also notes the difficulties that may ensue after policy changes ... (!) p54 - 6.45 ... ' We are by no means convinced that the newly introduced system of care , whereby different professionals , employed by different departments and trusts, hand on responsibility for parts of cases to each other , suits all clients . Accountants , politicians and managers may see a worthwhile sense of competition and budgetary containment here and we accept the need for the latter . However we take the view that present arrangements are equally likely to lead to a diffusion of responsibility ,which may be particularly disadvantageous in some cases .Cooperation is surely the most important factor in cases such as that of Richard Phillips ' ... . There is an addendum which questions the original diagnosis , suggesting a greater attention should have been taken to review the original stance , bearing in mind some of the findings in aftercare which may have led to a substituted diagnosis of manic-depression - an illness for which depot medication would not be a first- line resort . Depot injections - as all neuroleptics at the time - carry an increase risk of dying if there is a heart attack , and may in themselves bring about a heart attack of a kind , because they can interfere with conduction of impulse in the heart contraction . Most neuro-leptics for schizophrenia lead to fatty overweight ; also a factor in heart attacks .The Inquiries saw nothing in the addendum to revise their conclusions .	E-mail reaction is welcome mica@didgy.freeserve.co.uk