Patient Found Dead In Hospital Toilet Three Days After Leaving Ward To Go For Cigarette

A patient was found dead in a hospital toilet three days after leaving his ward to go for a cigarette, an inquest heard today.

Jonathan Earp, 32, had been on admission at the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, England with suspected deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. On July 7, Earp expressed a wish to discharge himself and a medical assessment confirmed he had the mental capacity to make his own decisions. Earp, however, stayed in the ward and later on that day left for a cigarette but did not return. He was known to leave the ward to have a cigarette from time to time.

When he wasn't seen hours later, police and site management were alerted but he was still not found until July 10 in a disabled toilet in the hospital. The inquest heard that a post mortem found that a number of drugs were in his system, not all prescribed - but further evidence is to be collected on this. An inquest into his death will be held next spring, a coroner ruled today. It will focus on what happened between the time he left his ward in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital on July 7 this year and when he was found dead in a disabled toilet in the building on July 10.

Gloucestershire Police have ruled out foul play but have referred themselves to the Independent Police Complaints Commission because they had received a call expressing concern for Mr Earp's welfare after he disappeared on July 7. The Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has also carried out its own internal investigation into why Mr Earp's body was not found sooner.