‘Outgoing’ chef from Oldham died due to diabetes, inquest hears

Ashley Brooke, 33, died at his home on December 12, 2021, from diabetic ketoacidosis, a condition caused by a lack of insulin in the body.

The court heard that Ashley was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 23 and had a history of chronic drug use.

Ashley was found unresponsive at his home on the morning of Saturday, December 12, by his father Nigel Brooke and was pronounced dead by paramedics shortly afterwards.

Remembering his son Ashley, Nigel said: “He was outgoing and had a lot of friends and a big social circle.”

The coroner Julie Mitchell added that she could see from her notes on Ashley that he “worked really hard to train as a chef” and “enjoyed his career”.

Nigel said he became aware Ashley was taking drugs before he got his diabetes diagnosis, but it was “not common knowledge,” and Ashley was “very private” about his drug use.

He added that Ashley later “confided” in him that he was taking heroin which he said came as a “huge shock”.

As part of his treatment for drug use Ashley attended a service at The Gateway in Oldham and later Turning Point, where he was being treated at the time of his death.

Discussing Ashley’s drug use, Nigel said it was “always a worry” and that when it became clear he “wasn’t getting better” he paid for Ashley to attend a private detox centre.

While at the detox centre Ashley began to go through withdrawal and ended up in hospital. It was an incident that “really scared” him, according to his father.

Referring to the detox centre, Nigel said: “Type 1 diabetes and withdrawing from heroin is an absolute nightmare situation and I don’t think they could handle it that well.”

Nigel added that Ashley engaged “sporadically” with the treatment he was offered and that he suffered with anxiety and would sometimes become “anxious” about going out, “even just to Tesco”, depending on his state of mind.

“When he saw me, he seemed to brighten and be happy and okay but whether he put that on for his dad I don’t know”, Nigel added.

In August 2021, Ashley’s paternal grandmother, who he had lived with since his teenage years, died.

Nigel told the court that Ashley’s mother left the family home when he was just two years old, and his grandmother became a “second mum to him”.

“He was very upset when she died. She was 94 and had carers that came in, but Ashley would cook for her.

“Something changed after my mum passed away. Ashley didn’t show much emotion he bottled it up.

"He used to go shopping for her and make sure she had everything she needed for the week. He wasn’t eating as well after she died”, Nigel added.

At around this time Ashley was working as a pub chef but struggled with the length of time standing due to his diabetes which would cause swelling and numbness in his hands and feet.

At the time of his death Ashley’s previous boss was looking to reemploy him and Nigel was planning to set up a café which Ashley could run.

The day before Ashley died Nigel went to visit him and did not see him check his blood glucose levels.

Ashley told him he had eaten a curry and had been sick for a few days.

“He had vomited and was restless and not sleeping. I got him some fruit, some rehydration tablets and paracetamol. Then he went to bed and fell asleep. I was going to stay the night but went home when I saw he was resting”, Nigel said.

The next morning at around 10am, Nigel went to check on Ashley and could not wake him.

He called a close family friend and an ambulance.

The paramedics arrived quickly and attempted to revive Ashley, but he died a few minutes later.

Addressing Nigel, coroner Julie Mitchell said: “I can see you are taunting yourself for not staying on that Saturday night, but I don’t think you staying would have changed anything.

“You looked after him in his final days as much as you could. You asked him to seek medical help, you fed him and watered him.”

Coroner Mitchell later added: “I can see this is causing you significant, grief, anguish, and turmoil.

“You watched Ashley decline before your eyes for many years. You were a father trying to look out for his son and did the best you could. There is nothing more you could have done.”

Toxicologist Julie Evans told the court that the postmortem examination showed there was “little evidence of a drug overdose” and suggested the direct cause of death was ketoacidosis.

Cocaine was found in Ashley’s urine, indicating that it had not been taken recently, a low level of morphine was also found in his system, which could have been from heroin or morphine use, and other traces of drugs, including pregabalin, diazepam, paracetamol and dihydrocodeine, were at a level suggesting “therapeutic use”.

Ashley’s glucose measurement was however excessive, indicating a lack of insulin, and his symptoms including vomiting suggested that ketoacidosis may have come on in the day’s before Ashley’s death.

Ashley’s GP, Dr Stephen Baxter, also gave evidence and told the court that Ashley had come to him with concerns about his anxiety.

He said Ashley spoke about his diabetes as an “after thought” when visiting him and that he did not respond to his annual diabetic reviews or Dr Baxter’s advice to see a diabetic nurse.

Referring to Dr Baxter as “caring”, coroner Mitchell concluded that there were no missed opportunities in Ashley’s care or treatment and that his direct cause of death was ketoacidosis, and type 1 diabetes, fatty liver disease and drug use were contributory factors.

She said that his drug use was a significant contributory factor as the fact that Ashley was not testing his blood glucose levels regularly on Saturday, which was unusual for him, may have been due to him being under the influence of drugs.

She said: “Ashley’s health took a back seat when he was under the influence of drugs and that led to him suffering ketoacidosis.”

The coroner recorded a narrative conclusion.