An expert witness has told an inquest into the death of a teenager in a Pembrokeshire care home that reductions in his medication would not have had a bearing on him ending his life.

Luke Evans was found dead in his room at Upper House care home in LLandruidion, Solva, run by private company Marlowe.

The inquest heard that Luke, 16, had been prescribed a slow-release melatonin tablet as a child to combat sleep problems.

This was used with a combination of other methods including lavender oil and settling to help him sleep.

Luke continued to be prescribed melatonin when he came to live in Pembrokeshire.

However, in 2020 it was recommended that the dose be gradually reduced over the course of a year until he stopped taking it.

The inquest heard that it is not unusual for older teenagers to come off melatonin as it is not usually prescribed to those between the ages of 18 and 55.

Expert witness Professor Alastair Sutcliffe, a professor of Paediatrics at UCL who has conducted national research on melatonin, gave his evidence to the inquest yesterday.

He said that the way that the melatonin had initially been prescribed and the way it had been titrated down and then stopped were both appropriate and reasonable.

He said there were studies that linked melatonin to a greater incidence of suicide attempts but there were also studies with evidence to the contrary. There was ‘significant uncertainty’ about any link.

“My view overall is that on balance it was not a major contributor to what happened to him,” he said.

Professor Sutcliffe said that from reading the notes and information about Luke, it was possible that he could have had untreated ADHD.

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He said that chaotic sleep from a very young age, being drawn to stimulants such as cigarettes and impulse control issues were all indicators of the condition.

He said that a serious incident of self-harm in November 2020 suggested that Luke was ‘very distressed’ at that time.

Professor Sutcliffe extended his condolences to Luke’s family and said that the children’s home had ‘done their best for him’.

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In other evidence, looked after children’s nurse Helen Chapman said that Luke was engaging in his therapy at the home and with the Choices/ Barod programme.

In their appointments, which were over an hour long, he was always polite, engaged and made good eye contact and appropriate responses, usually saying that he felt eight out of ten when it came to his mood.

She said there was never a disconnect between what Luke said and how he presented.

“We never expected that call to say that he had taken his life,” she said.

The inquest continues today.