At just 25, Senior Aircraftman Paul Kavanagh had his ‘future ahead of him’.
A talented sportsman, he was looking forward to re-joining the RAF, and spending time with his loving family and girlfriend.
Yet, amid a battle with prescription drug and alcohol addiction, Paul found himself in a mental health crisis.
Tragically, just days after telling doctors he was not suicidal, Paul took his own life, heard an inquest at Bolton Coroners' Court on Wednesday, July 7.
Now, his family are trying to raise awareness around mental health and encouraging young men to speak out about their struggles.
Paul was found unresponsive by his grandmother and a family friend at his home in Guildford Road, Salford, on February 12, 2021, where he was pronounced dead by paramedics.
His death came as a blow to his loved ones, who had once watched and encouraged Paul successfully conquer his addictions, before fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming an officer in the RAF.
But in the year leading up to the nightmare discovery, Paul relapsed and suffered multiple overdoses which saw him in critical condition in hospital..
From 2013 to 2018, Paul had been struggling with diazepam addiction, normally used to treat anxiety.
With the help of his mother, Carla, and drug rehabilitation services, Paul managed to stop five-year dependency and was able to join the RAF.
Paul ‘enjoyed’ his time with the service, based in Digby, and continued with his love of boxing.
He was made a Senior Aircraftman and took pride in his work - including helping with the security of senior scientists leading the UK's response to Covid-19.
While in the RAF, however, he sustained a knee injury which led to him being prescribed codeine and tramadol for the pain.
Eventually, Paul would become ‘addicted’ to the tramadol and tested positive during a drug test carried out by the force, heard the court, meaning he had to leave the RAF in August, 2020.
“That was a disappointment to him. Leaving was not his choice,” the court was told.
“But he still had hopes that he would get back in.”
Paul’s family learned that he had been suffering with his mental health causing him to ‘self-harm’, made worse by the ‘lockdown that set him off again’, according to mum Carla.
They also began to suspect that Paul was taking a ‘mixture of drugs’, often disguising his behaviour by ‘wrapping the blister packets in plastic bags’ in an attempt to silence the sounds of him taking the medications.
“He tried to be secretive, but it was blatantly obvious what he was doing,” said his devastated mum.
Shortly after leaving the RAF, Paul was rushed to A&E by his mother after making an attempt on his life in August of last year.
After being assessed, doctors decided that he would be referred to Achieve, a drug and alcohol service, and sent for further help at Cromwell House, a mental health clinic.
He was also placed on an antidepressant drug, sertraline, to ‘increase his self-esteem’ and stem his ‘impulsive nature’ as he ‘would not think about the consequences’ of his actions.
During his assessments, Paul told mental health teams that he ‘felt nobody cared about him’ and had thoughts of self-harm and harming others in the past, but now had ‘no immediate plans’ to do so.
Paul was also ‘keeping himself in good shape’ and had even managed to successfully cut down on his drinking from a ‘bottle of vodka a day to a bottle of wine a week’, a mental health practitioner told the court.
But in the months that followed, Paul would take two ‘serious overdoses’, denying to doctors that they were attempts at suicide or self-harm.
Psychiatrist Dr Hannah Goldup, who assessed Paul while in hospital, suggested that he may have had undiagnosed ADD or ADHD, and encouraged him to take up Achieve’s offers of help.
Paul said ‘he didn’t feel the service had helped him last time’ and that he could make the changes needed himself.
A representative from Achieve, Barry Wheeler, gave evidence that the service had tried to get in touch with Paul on multiple occasions. Paul’s family said that he had tried returning one of the team’s calls, but ‘nobody picked up’.
The coroner said ‘this would be looked into’.
Paul’s second overdose took place on February 9, when he presented at A&E after being found unconscious on a path outside.
Medics advised Paul that there were risks to his life if he self-discharged, but he was ‘determined’ to leave and go home, according to Salford Royal Hospital consultant Dr Anthony Gleeson.
Staff on the ward carried out checks on Paul’s faculties and concluded that he was fit to make his own decisions, and that they would not have grounds to hold him in hospital against his wishes.
Just three days later, he was found dead.
The family of the young man paid an emotional tribute to their beloved son, grandson and brother.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News , mum Carla Healey said: “Paul was so funny, really outgoing, and had a real sense of humour. Hundreds of people wanted to come to his funeral.
“At the funeral, the chaplain for the RAF told us about what he had done in the service - he had been involved in the RAF’s Covid-19 response, contributing to the security of the SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) team.
“We will always be very proud of him.”
Together, they are setting up a charity to honour ‘Paul’s legacy’, and have established a Facebook group to encourage people to ‘share stories’ of their mental health struggles in the hope that people will be able to learn and help each other.
A forensic pathologist found his cause of death to be asphyxiation by hanging, which he was found to have researched on his phone immediately before the incident.
A toxicology report found only ‘therapeutic’ levels of sertraline and tramadol in his system at the time, which ‘would not have interfered with his thinking’ in the moments before his death.
Coroner Stephen Teasdale ruled the death as a suicide, saying: “It was impressive that he fought his problems.
“It is clear that he caused his own death and intended to do that because of his impulsive nature. Perhaps if he could have just put matters into a bit more context for his future, then he could have had a future.”
If you would like to share your story or contribute to 'Paul's legacy', go to the family's Facebook group.
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