A PSYCHIATRIC nurse hanged himself from a hospital bed just weeks after attempting to throw himself from the roof of Leigh Infirmary.

An inquest in Leigh was told that 48-year-old John David Gowan, a general nurse with specialist psychiatric qualifications, died on April 29 in Wigan Infirmary.

He was discovered at Leigh Infirmary on April 6 hanging with a belt around his neck from the end of a bed.

Mr Gowan, of Kane Court, Lowton, was being treated as a patient at Leigh suffering from depression and anxiety.

In March firefighters had rescued him from the infirmary roof.

Nursing assistant Anne Marie Fitzpatrick told the inquest she had been instructed to monitor Mr Gowan every 10 minutes, which she had done.

Miss Fitzpatrick said: "I checked on John at 10 past the hour and he was lying on his bed resting."

But when she checked 10 minutes later she saw through the door window he was lying on the floor and his bed had been moved from its usual position. On entering the room she saw him hanging and immediately shouted for help.

Other colleagues and a patient helped lift Mr Gowan from the floor and removed the belt before a resuscitation team took over.

Consultant pathologist Dr Iqbal Dhesi said Mr Gowan had suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen and had gone into a coma. As a result, he developed lung problems and died of pneumonia.

Mr Gowan's father, Kenneth, told the inquest how, after trying to throw himself off the hospital roof, his son had told him he would "not do anything silly".

He said that he thought his son had deteriorated following eight courses of ECT treatment earlier in the year.

Coroner Jennifer Leeming recorded an open verdict.