Man died after 'perfect storm of work stress'

A HOSPITAL worker "engulfed by a perfect storm from work-related stresses and pressures" died in a river on a cold spring night, an inquest heard.

- OLIVIER VERGNAULT

Adam Spoors was so exhausted and stressed from his work as a lab scientist at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro that he crashed his car on the road leading him home then walked in a straight line in a state of delirium, through thick brambles before falling into the cold water of the River Kenwyn.

An inquest into the death of the 39-year-old dad-of-two from Truro, which was held on Wednesday and Thursday, heard how the well-regarded worker and loving family man had felt under pressure to perform at work after finally receiving promotion to a senior role.

The hearing held in Truro was also told how restructuring of the shift patterns in the lab where patients' samples are analysed meant staff had to work a 24/7 rota including long 12-hour night shifts at weekends on their own, despite Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) admitting the optimum number of staff needed for such shifts was two.