Birmingham City Council IT contractor took his own life after mental health battle, inquest heard

An IT specialist working for Birmingham City Council on its ‘Oracle’ project has taken his own life – but a coroner has ruled out fears that work-related problems contributed significantly to his death. Paul Chinn, 56, was found dead at his home in Godalming, Surrey.

An inquest into his death found that he died amid a long battle with mental health. Surrey Coroner Jonathan Stevens said Mr Chinn had visited his GP and sought support from a counselor in the run-up to his death in December 2023.

In a statement, his family doctor reported that he had a history of depression and anxiety, due to bereavement and childhood trauma. His marriage had broken down and he had financial worries. He visited A&E before his death in December 2023 and was discharged with a plan for a GP review and details for mental health support.

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In a conversation with his GP two days before he died, he spoke of struggling to cope, worried he would go bankrupt and suicidal. But he said he “felt different now” and was looking forward. He was put on anti-depressants and a community mental health review arranged, along with a follow-up appointment after Christmas.

But he later took his own life shortly after. The coroner told how a senior officer at Birmingham City Council contacted him to express concerns that the working environment at the council – where Mr Chinn was working as an Oracle IT system contractor at the time – “could have been a contributing factor to the tragic event’.

But the coroner heard evidence that in regular counseling sessions with a psychiatrist he saw many times, and in his contacts with his GP and emergency services just before his death, Mr Chinn only once expressed his background work as a factor.

“He had intense feelings of worthlessness, exacerbated at work,” he said. Summing up the case, Mr Stevenson said: “What is clear from the evidence is that Mr Chinn was badly affected by childhood trauma, family estrangement, marital breakdown and financial worries”… but his working environment was rarely presented . in his consultations with the medical staff. He said he “didn’t put a lot of weight on it.” He gave the verdict of suicide.