Tragic nurse ‘driven to take deadly ketamine’
A nurse died after taking a horse tranquilliser to cope with the stress of working long hours at a hospital, an inquest heard.
Jay Murdoch was signed off work for up to six months with anxiety and depression but was asked to return to work early due to staff shortages.
Despite plans by hospital managers for a phased return, Mr Murdoch, 34, would work an extra five hours each shift then take powerful anaesthetic ketamine recreationally to help him ‘switch off’.
In March last year after attending a wedding reception Mr Murdoch, originally from Glasgow, told his partner: ‘You would all be better off without me,’ before being found unresponsive on his sofa with a cardiac arrest.
He was taken to Manchester royal Infirmary, the hospital in which he worked as a ward matron, but died six days later.
Police investigated whether the tragedy was a ‘deliberate or accidental overdose’ but toxicology tests were unable to establish if drugs caused his death.
Mr Murdoch, who was living in Hulme, Manchester, was assigned to the 62-bed emergency surgical trauma unit at the hospital.
His partner Gareth Chapman told the Manchester hearing: ‘Jay spent a lot of hours working and in late 2016 he was off for four to six months with stress, depression and anxiety.
‘He got a return to work date but the hospital were short-staffed so asked him to come back earlier. They agreed a phased return but he was still working an extra five hours each shift.
‘He was still very stressed and asking for support all the time but never received any.’
On the evening of Friday, March 24, Mr Murdoch turned up at his work acting strangely, Mr Chapman told the hearing. The next evening the couple went to a wedding reception and then a party.
Mr Chapman said: ‘recreational drugs were consumed – cocaine and we had a bag of ketamine but that wasn’t finished. Jay would take ketamine as a coping mechanism to switch off from work quickly.’
Mr Chapman said the couple spent the sunday at home and the next morning he found Jay on the sofa and couldn’t wake him.
Mr Murdoch’s mother Janet told the inquest she spoke to her son on the sunday and he said he was tired, adding: ‘It was Mother’s Day and Jay had sent me flowers.
‘He did have problems with anxiety. He was taking medication and offered counselling.’
Director of nursing at the Manchester Hospitals Foundation Trust, susanne Langley said: ‘We were concerned he was showing the same behaviour he had been before he went on leave so we referred him to occupational health.’
Toxicologist Dr Julie evans said blood samples taken from Mr Murdoch two days after his admission to hospital showed no ketamine or cocaine, but traces of painkillers temazepam and diazepam, and the sedative chlordiazepoxide.
she added: ‘I cannot determine whether the level of drugs were excessive due to the time delay.’
recording an open conclusion, coroner Zak Golombeck said: ‘The deceased had taken prescription medication and illicit drugs. However, the cause of the cardiac arrest is unknown.’