Woman kills herself after eye care fears

A pensioner with a painful eye condition took her own life after becoming anxious that her new GP would not be able to afford to treat her, an inquest in Wolverhampton heard.

Mavis Blunt, of Hilary Drive, Penn, had suffered from a condition called dry eye syndrome, which can cause the eyes to become inflamed and had caused her considerable pain for five years.

The court heard that she was upset that her regular doctor who had been treating her was retiring. Her daughter Louise Whitton told the hearing yesterday: "She was worried about moving to a new GP. She thought it would cost them too much to give her the treatment she required."

Mrs Blunt, a 75-year-old former dinner lady, was described as outgoing and sociable before her illness. Since then, she tended to stay at home and was generally more unhappy, said Mrs Whitton.

The inquest was told that on the night her mother died in March this year, her father had stayed at Mrs Whitton's house on babysitting duties while his wife stayed at home.

When he returned to the house in Penn at 9.30am the next day, he was unable to get into the property.

He went up to their bedroom to find the door blocked from the inside by furniture. After forcing his way in, he found his wife unconscious on the bed.

Mrs Blunt was admitted to New Cross Hospital, in Wolverhampton, but she died the following day. Paracetamol tablets were found in the bin outside her house. The court heard staff found a letter to her family in her clothing.

A post mortem concluded she had died of a drug overdose. Recording a verdict of suicide at the end of the hearing, Wolverhampton coroner Richard Allen said her fears were "understandable but unfounded".