Mental patient's death a mystery

An inquest into a female patient's death returned an open verdict

A pathologist has said a post-mortem test he carried out on the body of a patient who died at a mental health unit in Redruth was inconclusive.

Consultant Robert Pitcher told an inquest at Camborne Magistrates Court he found no medical explanation for 22-year-old Henry Gibb's death.

Mr Gibb, from Falmouth, was being treated for anxiety and depression at Longreach House when he died in 2004.

He is one of three patients who died at the centre over a three-month period.

Carole Baker, 44, a manic depression sufferer and a former head teacher from Ludvgan near Penzance, died after taking a shower at the centre in March 2004, while 65-year-old Ann Buckfield, also from Penzance, collapsed and died in a communal area the day after Mr Gibb died.

An inquest held in October into Ms Baker's death recorded an open verdict and an inquest into Ms Buckfield's death is due to open on Monday.

Longreach House opened in August 2003 at a cost of £6.5m. It was designed to replace three other mental health units in the county.