London GP killed himself after mother told him to ‘cure’ his homosexuality
A London doctor killed himself after his mother pushed him to ‘cure’ his homosexuality, an inquest has heard.
Harley Street GP Nazim Mahmood died on July 30, when he threw himself off the balcony of his West Hampstead apartment.
The 34-year-old had been with fiancé Matthew Ogston for 13 years.
St Pancras Coroners’ Court heard today that just days before he died, Dr Mahmood had come out to his Muslim mother after years of secrecy – only for her to urge him to seek a “cure”.
According to the Evening Standard, Mr Ogston told the inquest: “She had suggested to him he needed to see a psychiatrist to see if he could be cured. Together I think they agreed they would get through it.
“Telling someone they needed to be cured would not be the easiest thing to take.”
The coroner’s court was told that Dr Mahmood had taken mephedrone and ketamine before he died, and was naked when he jumped off the balcony.
Coroner Mary Hassell said: “It seems incredible that a young man with so much going for him could have taken his own life. But what I’ve heard is that he had one great sadness which was the difficulty his family had in accepting his sexuality.
“It seems desperately sad that in 2014 a person should feel that they can’t be accepted because of the way that they live and I can only feel the deepest sympathy for Nazim that he felt so sad and desperate about this that he took his life.”
Scotland Yard previously apologised after his body was left lying on the pavement for hours with only a thin blanket to cover him.
Fiancé Matthew Ogston is planning to start a foundation in his partner’s name.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article and need to talk to someone, visit samaritans.org or call 08457 90 90 90.
