A FORMER theatre chair and NHS chief who 'functioned at a very high level' was found dead at her home near Appleby, an inquest has heard.
Gillian Galdins, 65, was found by her husband on March 17, 2024, when he returned to their home after working away for several days.
A statement submitted to Cockermouth Coroner's Court by Mr Galdins told how his wife had trained as a nurse and midwife before working her way up to be Chief Operating Officer of Wakefield NHS Trust.
After taking early retirement she became a freelance management consultant, chair of the Wakefield Theatre Royal, chair of Richmond House school governors in Leeds, as well as a board member of the Make a Dream charity in Leeds, fundraising and granting wishes to terminally ill children and their families.
Mrs Galdins was also a carer for her mother who suffered from Alzheimer's disease and dementia, which she had stopped working to do.
Mr Galdins' statement said that in April 2022, he set off on a Friday for a friend's stag weekend, and his wife was 'perfectly fine'.
He said that when he returned on the Sunday afternoon, she was 'visibly shaking and looked scared'.
She said that she had searched for symptoms online, and was convinced she had Alzheimer's Disease and dementia.
Mr Galdins said: "Nothing I said helped so I took her to the GP that week hoping for some tests and to reassure us that she was in good health."
The GP, Dr Bell, when questioned by assistant coroner for Cumbria, Robert Cohen, said that when Mrs Galdins called the following week, it was 'very apparent very quickly', that she required a face-to-face appointment, and saw her in the surgery 90 minutes later.
Dr Bell said took a blood sample which ruled out a physical cause.
She said Mrs Galdins appeared 'withdrawn and very low in mood'.
She encouraged her to contact First Steps, a talking therapy service, and would call her to discuss treatment options when her blood results came back.
She then called Mrs Galdins in the following days and discussed prescribing anti-depressants, which she said she would discuss with her husband.
Five months then passed with no contact between Mrs Galdins, who had not engaged with First Steps, and the GP surgery.
Mr Cohen questioned Dr Bell as to why no follow-up was attempted, to which she responded that due to the workload at the surgery, this was 'not possible'.
Mrs Galdins did call on October 10, and was again given an immediate face-to-face consultation.
Dr Bell said she had lost a 'significant amount of weight', and prescribed 14 doses of mirtazapine, an antidepressant, to treat her low appetite and anxiety, and promote sleep.
She also referred Mrs Galdins to the community mental health team of Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust (CNTW).
Dr Bell followed up, and spoke to Mrs Galdins on October 31.
She reported the mirtazapine, which Dr Bell said usually takes between four and six weeks to have an effect, as having little benefit, and so was prescribed 14 doses of sertraline, an SSRI, which takes a similar time for benefit to be felt.
Dr Bell said: "She was unwell, and being a health professional, she didn’t want to bother me, and it was a struggle to sometimes get her to open up."
A CNTW representative said in court that the wait for a mental health assessment was 'lengthy', and took place in May 2023.
In a call from the mental health team in April 2023, she said she was ‘always having suicidal thoughts’ and scored her mood as ‘two out of 10’, but the team did not feel a referral to the crisis team was necessary at that point.
Dr Bell was then asked by the CNTW care-co-ordinator to prescribe fluoxetine, a different SSRI.
Dr Bell said she was 'shocked' at the length of time between contacts.
On June 29, she was seen by a consultant psychiatrist, who described her as a 'medium to high' suicide risk, but the crisis team were not involved.
In July 2023, Mrs Galdins declined any further non-pharmacological treatment from CNTW.
No further contact was made with Mrs Galdins, who had not ordered any repeat prescriptions for any medication, despite being prescribed only 14 doses of three different types, none of which would have been enough to have therapeutic effect, according to Dr Bell.
Mr Cohen said: "It is clear that Gill didn’t comply with her prescribed medication."
He expressed 'concerns' about the lack of a mechanism for ensuring medication compliance.
The CNTW representative said that the lack of a follow-up by a psychiatrist, which was planned, the lack of waiting list review, and lack of discussion of the case at a multi-disciplinary meeting were 'findings' that have since been addressed and acted upon.
Mr Cohen concluded that Mrs Galdins' death was a suicide by hanging.
Mr Galdins paid tribute to wife.
He said: "She was capable of achieving much more career-wise but she always considered our home life and family to be much more important.
"Gill had the gift of being able to engage with anyone.
"Gill had a great sense of humour and an infectious laugh, and she was fun to be with.
"We laughed a lot throughout our marriage.
"She liked walks in the countryside and spending time with her family and friends.
"She was a very sociable person, and a fantastic mother."
When life is difficult, Samaritans are here – day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit www.samaritans.org for more
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