The daughter of a 76-year-old dementia sufferer from Fulham who was found dead in the River Thames has paid tribute to her “very kind” father, at an inquest held into his death on Tuesday (April 24).
The body of Oswald Henderson Mapp, who lived alone in Rowberry Close, was discovered in the river near Barnes Bridge, Richmond , on August 28 2016, two days after he was reported missing.
Police were called by a member of the public who had seen a body in the river at 7.05am. It was recovered from the water and later identified as Mr Henderson Mapp.
Officers from Hammersmith CID said the “high-risk missing person” was found wearing his wedding ring and had a list of his friends' names and phone numbers on his person.
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Speaking at the inquest, daughter Caroline Dimick said her father was a “very kind and happy man” who started suffering from dementia and going missing “at least once a month” from early 2016.
She said: “He was a very quiet man, very kind and a happy person. He was fit, no physical problems."
However, the Fulham resident explained she had difficulties getting her father referred to a memory clinic in Hammersmith after an appointment at Dr S Jefferies' surgery, in Munster Road.
Giving evidence at West London Coroner's Court, Ms Dimick said: “My dad and I went to [Dr S Jefferies'] GP practice to explain we had been having problems.
“I was told by the GP that he was going to refer my dad to the [Hammersmith and Fulham memory clinic] to find out what kind of dementia he had.”
Although it usually takes “three to six weeks” to get a memory clinic appointment following a referral, Ms Dimick said she did not hear about the appointment for two months.
Dr Azmat Qureshi, who works at the Fulham surgery, said Mr Henderson Mapp had been referred on June 7 and again on August 16 after the family chased the appointment.
However, Dr Qureshi told assistant coroner Michael Walsh that they have “no way of knowing if [the clinic] got the referral”, with admin staff simply sending the referral again if families chase the appointment.
Ms Dimick said she was desperate for a bracelet for her father so an alarm would be activated if he wandered off, but she was told he had to be seen by the clinic first.
According to Mr Henderson Mapp's daughter, she was called “a few days after [her father] died” about the appointment, to which she said: “It's too late now.”
'In the water for a day or two'
Before drawing a narrative conclusion, the assistant coroner told Dr Qureshi there “needs to be some effort put into discovering where these referrals go and what's going to happen to them”.
However, he added: “Even if an appointment was received [by Mr Henderson Mapp] it's difficult to say if a different series of events would have happened.”
After Mr Walsh asked Dr Qureshi if there was going to be any changes to Dr S Jefferies surgery, she replied: “I think it needs to be assessed to find ways to avoid the same happening.”
The assistant coroner concluded the 76-year-old died of immersion and his body had been in the water for a day or two.
He suggested, although the Mr Henderson Mapp suffered from dementia, it's "unknown how it affected him on this occasion".
