A NURSE who was suffering from work-related stress was found dead after consuming a cocktail of sedatives, an inquest heard.

Josh Warwick

A NURSE who was suffering from work-related stress was found dead after consuming a cocktail of sedatives, an inquest heard.

Michele Wood's body was found on a farm in Nacton on March 26, two days after she had been reported missing by her family.

A toxicology report found the mother-of-two had taken drugs including zopicione, chlorpromazine, promethazine, mirtazaphine, dextromethorphan, diazepam and lormetazepam.

Mrs Wood, 45, of Medway Road, Ipswich, had worked as a nurse since 1981, qualifying in 1983 and eventually taking up a position at Hatfield Road surgery in east Ipswich.

In 2006, the surgery closed and amalgamated with another at a new practice in Ravenswood, where Mrs Wood, a married mother-of-two, became a senior nurse.

Her family said it was while she was there that her responsibilities became more demanding and increasingly stressful.

It also emerged that Mrs Wood's body was found near treasured family photographs and cherished notes from loved ones.

Consultant pathologist Jason Wong, who carried out Mrs Wood's post mortem, told the inquest the drugs she had consumed alone, which were taken in limited doses, were unlikely to have been strong enough to kill her.

However, he said the weather at the time she had gone missing had been particularly cold and windy.

Dr Wong added: “Given those conditions, and that she could have been drowsy, she might have been more prone to hyperthermia.”

Coroner Dr Peter Dean recorded an open verdict.

He said: “We know there was a background of stress relating to work and items present at the scene suggested there was suicidal intent.

“The problem is establishing the link between that intent and the outcome.

“We have heard the temperatures were such she could have died of hyperthermia.”