Drugs death of stressed-out medic
AN NHS nurse died after taking the horse tranquiliser Ketamine to cope with the stress of working long hours.
Jay Murdoch, 34, was signed off for six months with anxiety and depression but was asked to come back early due to staff shortages, an inquest heard.
Despite plans for a “phased return”, he worked an extra five hours each shift.
After clocking off, Mr Murdoch would take the drug to help him “switch off”.
In March 2017, he told his partner Gareth Chapman “You would all be better off without me”. He was later found unresponsive on his sofa having had a heart attack. Mr Murdoch was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary, where he worked, but died six days later.
The Manchester inquest heard Mr Murdoch, who was originally from Glasgow, was “proud to be a nurse” but regularly worked long shifts.
Mr Chapman, a company manager, said his partner often took Ketamine “as a coping mechanism” but had been behaving strangely in the days before his death.
Toxicologist Dr Julie Evans said blood tests taken two days after Mr Murdoch was admitted to hospital, showed no Ketamine in his system but traces of the painkillers Temazepam, Diazepam and sedative Chlordiazepoxide.
Susanne Langley, director of nursing at the Manchester Hospitals Foundation Trust, said she spoke to Jay when he came back to work after a colleague “raised concerns”.
She said: “There was some difficulty with Jay being asked to leave work but staying. Jay was very agitated and said he had been working really hard.
“This was during his phased return which we wouldn’t expect of anybody. We referred him to occupational health.”
Coroner Zak Golombeck recorded an open verdict.