A trans man hanged himself outside a hospital emergency department after feeling “dismissed, ignored, not communicated with and lied to” by mental health workers, an inquest has heard.

Matty Sheldrick died at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, weeks after being found its emergency department in November 2022.

Matty, who lived in Hove, had previously spent more than three weeks in the emergency department as there were no mental health beds available.

Family raised concerns that the “actions and inactions” of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which runs mental health liaison services, contributed to Matty's death.

In an emotive statement read to the inquest by Matty’s mother, Shelagh Sheldrick, she said: “Matty was a friendly, sweet, kind, bright, creative, understanding and gentle soul.

“He masked from me the despair that he was in.

“We are completely heartbroken that Matty is no longer physically with us - heartbroken that he suffered so much when he reached out to people he thought would protect him.”

Matty, 29, shared a love of music with his mother and attended gigs with her including seeing Barbra Streisand in Hyde Park.

Originally from Surrey, Matty moved to Hove in 2021 with his dog Lola who was described as his “constant companion”, with Matty. Ms Sheldrick said the pair “rescued each other”.

Ms Sheldrick said that Lola helped Matty to be social and added that when she visited Hove to see Matty she “could see he and Lola were becoming known locally”.

Matty was studying social sciences with the Open University, played guitar, performed spoken word, and was a commissioned artist.

Matty was found hanged outside the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton less than two hours after he was discharged following a mental health assessment on November 4.

The inquest, held in Horsham, heard that Matty had suffered from anxiety and depression since 2013.

Ms Sheldrick added that one of the first signs of Matty’s mental health struggles came when he asked her to look after Lola.

Matty’s GP, Dr Sam Hall, told the inquest that in February 2022 Matty was “losing weight” but that there were “no concerns about his mental health” when last seen in August.

Dr Hall said: “We were aware that Matty had spent three weeks plus in the short stay ward. I’m not aware of anything else until the date that Matty hanged themselves.”

After suffering mental health problems Matty spent over three weeks in the emergency department of the Royal Sussex in September 2022 due to a lack of available mental health beds.

In that time his family say that Matty, who was diagnosed with autism and ADHD, was involuntarily sedated during an autistic meltdown and was “spoken to like a child” by a mental health professional.

Dr Robert Sparks, an independent mental health doctor in Sussex who assessed Matty, described mental health services as "in crisis" and that there was "no prospect of a bed becoming available".

In a statement by Ms Sheldrick read to the coroner’s court, she said that Matty “often felt dismissed, ignored, not communicated with and lied to” by members of the mental health liaison team at the hospital.

By November, doctors at Matty’s GP practice, WellBN, noted that something had happened which “made him [Matty] feel very depressed and he had felt suicidal ever since”.

A doctor noted that Matty “felt the system was set up to make people commit suicide because you do not see the same person twice”.

Matty was re-admitted to the Royal Sussex emergency department the following day. On November 4, Matty texted a family friend to say that he had accidentally assaulted a member of staff and that police officers were called to the emergency department.

In her statement, Ms Sheldrick added: “This had been a great point of pain that in his last hours he was being treated like a dangerous criminal.

"He didn't want to die - he wanted help.

“He arrived at the hospital with hope but by the end he had lost all hope.”

After a mental health assessment on November 4, Matty was told he could leave the emergency department and did so at 9pm. At 10.45pm. Matty was found less than 30 metres from the hospital having hanged himself.

Matty died 17 days later after spending over a fortnight on an intensive care unit.

The inquest, held in Horsham before senior coroner Penelope Schofield, continues and is expected to conclude in August.