Worcestershire man Paul Dance killed himself following eye surgery

An electrician took his own life after "struggling to cope with the effects of recent eye surgery", a coroner said.

Following surgery in January, Paul Dance reported seeing haloes and he could not distinguish them from street lights, his partner had said.

But at an inquest on Wednesday, senior coroner for Worcestershire David Reid said Mr Dance had been made aware of the risks by eye care firm Optegra.

The company said its own investigation had found no issues in his care.

Coroner Mr Reid said it was clear Mr Dance felt "regret and guilt" about his decision to have the corrective surgery but no one could "anticipate" his decision to kill himself.

Mr Dance's partner of over 18 years, Denise Phillips, told the hearing, before his death on 4 July, Mr Dance's "whole world revolved around his eyes" and he had hated wearing glasses.

The court heard he had made contact with the company seven times with concerns, but had been dealt with by a clinician each time.

But Ms Phillips, a district nurse, said, following a consultation with a consultant ophthalmologist on 24 June, he left feeling like a "burden".

The following day, she said, he had contacted Optegra to seek a different consultant's opinion on treatment, but never received a call back.

The court was told of an internal email informing the consultant Mr Dance was "confused" following a consultation, but they replied "he didn't listen then and probably wouldn't listen again".

The consultant apologised for the email, saying he had not seen Mr Dance as a "problem patient" but had been "fraught and frustrated" with his workload.

He said he had intended to contact Mr Dance, but that did not take place before his death.

The inquest also heard from two psychological practitioners who had contact with Mr Dance, who said he had shown no indication of thoughts of self-harm.

Louise Harrison, the head of clinical governance and risk at Optegra, told the hearing, the firm had been looking at bringing in a system to follow up with consultants and also looking at whether they should refer to GPs if a patient is unhappy post-surgery.

Following the hearing, Ms Phillips, said she "cannot describe the heartbreak" of losing her partner.

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