A 78-year-old man was found dead in his Stockport flat after Greater Manchester Police told a concerned friend that his welfare was 'not a police matter'. Thomas Crabbe had probably been dead for several days when he was discovered on the floor of his living room on December 28 last year.
Concerns raised before death
Mr Crabbe lived alone in a social housing flat designated for the over 60s and had limited mobility. A family friend became concerned after being unable to contact him from December 27. She did not have a key but made several attempts to see him before contacting GMP for help.
In a report, senior coroner Alison Mutch said: "She was told that as she could not see him within the flat that it was not a police matter. The advice was to call Stockport Homes when they reopened the next day, or it might be worth trying the ambulance service."
Discovery and cause of death
The following day, Stockport Homes were contacted as soon as they reopened. They forced entry due to significant concerns for his welfare. Mr Crabbe was found deceased on the floor of the living room. A post-mortem confirmed he had died of hypothermia.
The coroner ruled that Mr Crabbe died from hypothermia, having fallen to the floor in his flat which was not warm and when he was not able to call for assistance. She noted that GMP were acting under the Right Care Right Person policy, adopted by police forces nationally.
Coroner's findings and police response
In a prevention of future deaths report, Ms Mutch added: "In this situation the Court was told that Police would have attended had the friend been able to see he was in the flat. However, Mr Crabbe could not in reality have been anywhere else given what was known about him and the information shared."
She said it was accepted in evidence that effective signposting is essential if GMP are not attending. The police were saying it was a health matter rather than a police matter and that NWAS were the correct organisation, but this was not made clear by the call handler. The internal police review identified that the friend should have been told to call hospitals, but it was accepted that such advice would not have helped as a hospital is bound by GDPR.
A GMP spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with the family of Thomas Crabbe. The principles of Right Care Right Person (RCRP) have been agreed and implemented by all emergency and support agencies to provide the most appropriate response for the people of Greater Manchester." They added that GMP has led on extensive training for call handlers regarding RCRP, including structured questioning, assessments and decision-making processes.
