John McGovern (pictured) killed himself with an overdose of sleeping pills
A psychologist killed himself with an overdose of sleeping pills after convincing himself that he was failing his patients, an inquest heard.
John McGovern had been suffered from bouts of irrational thoughts and anxiety due to his heavy workload and depression, and even wanted to hand himself over to police.
In July, the 62-year-old researched ways to kill himself on the internet before downing sleeping medication he had been stockpiling at his office.
Police who found the father-of-one’s body at his consulting rooms in Poynton, Cheshire also discovered a suicide note addressed to his wife saying goodbye.
A search of the room also uncovered an empty of bottle of the liqueur and several packs of sleeping pills in the bin.
His wife Audrey told the Macclesfield hearing how her husband had a history of depression and anxiety stretching back more than 15 years.
She said: ‘On July 4 I found a large number of tablets in his office and when I asked John about it he said it was in case they took them off the market.
‘On July 6 he left the house in the morning saying he was going to the office to do some admin and wouldn’t be home as he was meeting his friend.
‘By 11.30pm John still wasn’t home and I sent him a text and got no reply within 15 minutes which was unusual. I must have called eight or nine times and got no answer.
‘I went to his office in the village but it was dark and the shutters were down so I returned home and phoned the police.
‘At 7.30am the next morning I was visited by a police officer who informed me of John’s death.’
Psychiatrist Dr Nathan Stein said: ‘John was presented to me with anxiety and depression and was struggling to think straight.
‘He wanted to hand himself into the police because he was worried that he was failing his patients. He had always suffered severe reflux which was leading to insomnia.
‘My impression was that he was bordering on psychotic depression. On the 11th of April 2016 I reviewed him again and he was feeling slightly better.
‘He was still feeling hopeless and having suicidal thoughts but said there was no point and it wasn’t something he would do.
‘There were suicidal ideas but no risk and he was assessed as a low suicidal risk.’
A toxicology report showed that the level of sleeping pill in Mr McGovern’s system was at a level of 0.87 which is consistent with excessive ingestion.
Fatal doses have been reported as low as 0.28 micrograms. A post-mortem examination revealed that he had died as a result of sleeping pill toxicity.
Recording a verdict of suicide, coroner Michael Wallbank said: ‘John McGovern was very successful professionally but had been battling with depression and anxiety for some time.
‘He had previously made reference to suicide and researched the subject in some depth.
‘It seems possible that he stockpiled his medication – this had been planned over time. He left a note which was indicative of his mental state.’