HEALTH chiefs have apologised for failures in the care of a young York man who starved to death because of an obsessive eating disorder.

But they insist they have learned lessons from the death of 23-year-old Jonathan Moir, and have changed their procedures to make sure the same thing could not happen again.

Jonathan, who had been set for a bright future after beginning a law degree at Manchester University, developed an obsessive compulsive disorder as a result of which he became convinced food was harming him.

After a lengthy battle with the condition the once healthy, sports-loving young man died at York Hospital in December 1999. He weighed only five-and-a-half stone.

An inquest seven months after his death heard he had developed stomach pains and depression, and had been diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. He adopted a restricted diet to control this, which developed into an obsession.

The inquest heard that ten doctors and five hospitals, including Bootham, York Hospital and The Retreat, were unable to save him.

But Jonathan's parents, Roger and Tricia Moir of Hilbra Avenue in Haxby, claimed failures in his care contributed to his death. They demanded an internal inquiry and, still not satisfied, then took their complaint to the health ombudsman.

The ombudsman's report, released earlier this year, upheld certain aspects of their complaint.

It identified a "lack of effective communication and decision-making" by doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists involved in Jonathan's care. Assessors for the ombudsman were particularly critical of a decision to leave it up to Jonathan himself to choose whether to be referred to the specialist Maudsley Hospital in London.

"Indecisiveness was an intrinsic element of his illness," the report said.

"This option should have been presented to Jonathan with a greater degree of persuasion."

Following the report Jeremy Clough, chief executive of the Selby and York Primary Care Trust which, since Jonathan's death, has taken over responsibility for mental health services in York, wrote to the Moirs apologising for failures in Jonathan's care.

He outlined steps the trust has taken since, including better supervision, better presentation of treatment plans to patients and their families, and improved communication between mental health teams and with York Hospital.

In a statement to the Evening Press Garry Millard, the trust's director of mental health, said: "This was a particularly tragic case. We do accept the ombudsman's report, acknowledge the failures that are identified and apologise to Mr and Mrs Moir for that.

"We are an organisation that learns from incidents like this and takes action. I'm certain that with all the changes we have made, this sort of thing would not happen again."

Mr and Mrs Moir said today: "We accept that Jonathan's illness was extremely unusual and severe. All we wanted was an acknowledgement that there were failings in the care he received.

"We acknowledge Mr Millard's apology, and his assurances that such a thing could not happen again. This will not, however, bring our wonderful son back to us."

Updated: 11:00 Friday, August 20, 2004