NHS nurse, 34, died after taking horse tranquilliser ketamine to cope with the stress of working long hours
Jay Murdoch would work an extra five hours each shift and after he clocked off would take the powerful anaesthetic drug at home recreationally to help him 'switch off'
A DEDICATED senior nurse died after he began taking the horse tranquiliser ketamine to cope with the stress of working long working hours at an NHS hospital, an inquest heard.
Jay Murdoch, 34, had been signed off work for up to six months due to anxiety and depression but was asked to come back to work early due to staff shortages.
Despite plans by hospital managers for a ''phased return,'' Mr Murdoch would work an extra five hours each shift and after he clocked off at 9pm would take the powerful anaesthetic drug at home recreationally to help him ''switch off.''
In March last year after attending a wedding reception Mr Murdoch, from Hulme, Manchester 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 where he worked as a ward matron but died six days later despite efforts to revive him.
Police investigated whether the tragedy was a ''deliberate or accidental overdose" but toxicology tests were unable to establish whether the drugs caused his death.
Mr Murdoch - originally from Glasgow - had been assigned to the 62 bed Emergency Surgical Trauma Unit at the hospital where he proclaimed himself ''Proud to be a nurse'' and would post updates on his Twitter page about staff success stories and advances in medical treatment.
But his partner Gareth Chapman, a company manager, 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 was asking for support all the time but never received any.
"We went to a wedding reception and had a lovely evening before going on to a party. Recreational drugs were consumed in the form of two bumps of cocaine and we had a two gram bag of Ketamine but that wasn't finished."
He added: "Jay would take Ketamine as a coping mechanism to switch off from work quickly."
Gareth said after they got home from the wedding on Sunday morning, they were talking about work.
He said: "We were having a discussion about his work situation and Jay said: "You would all be better off without me." This was unusual for Jay and I told him if his job was upsetting him so much that he needed to look for a different one."
On Sunday night, Gareth said Jay came into the bedroom and "fell on him" and was "snoring loudly" so he nudged him, and Jay went back to sleep on the sofa.
On Monday morning, Gareth woke around 11.30am, but was unable to wake Jay, and ran to a neighbour who is a nurse and called an ambulance.
Jay's mother, Janet Murdoch said: "Jay was a fantastic son and very confident young man. His position meant that he had taken on a lot of responsibility but he absolutely loved being a nurse, that was his life.
"He did have problems with anxiety and found it difficult to switch off but it wasn't something I was overly concerned about at the time. He was taking medication and had been offered counselling but I don't think he took this up."
Director of nursing at the Manchester Hospitals Foundation Trust, Susanne Langley said Jay had returned to work on a phased return on January 27, but said it "wasn't going as well as expected" and asked to speak to him in her office.
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She said she and the director of nursing had been concerned he was "showing the same behaviour he had been before he went on leave" so they referred him to occupational health.
Toxicologist, Dr Julie Evans said tests were carried out on blood samples taken from Mr Murdoch two days after his admission to hospital and whilst there was no ketamine or cocaine in his system, there were traces of the painkillers Temazepam, Diazepam and the sedative Chlordiazepoxide.
She said she could not determine whether the level of drugs were excessive due to the time delay and "therefore cannot provide a medical cause of death."
Recording an open conclusion, Coroner Zak Golombeck said: "The deceased died on April 2 2017 at Manchester Royal Infirmary. He had suffered a cardiac arrest on March 27 and as a result suffered a severe brain injury. He had taken prescription medication and illicit drugs however, the cause of the cardiac arrest is unknown."
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