Doctor lay dead in hospital hanged himself after IT struggles
Doctor lay dead in hospital Eduard Zigar thebritishherald
A junior doctor lay dead in a hospital store room for two days after hanging himself, an inquest heard.
Eduard Zigar, 25, had only worked three shifts at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital before his body was found by shocked colleagues.
Originally from Lithuania, the medic was said to be “nervous” and had been struggling to get used to the hospital’s IT systems, an inquest heard.
He had only started his job at the upper gastrointestinal unit five days earlier.
Birmingham Coroner’s Court heard a rota mix-up meant his body remained in the store room for two days before it was found.
Colleagues also said Dr Zigar, who lived in Wolverhampton, had been “nervous” shortly before his death.
CCTV showed him wandering the hospital for more than an hour before he walked into a store room in the Ambulatory Care Unit at 6.59pm.
When he failed to turn up for his shift the next day, staff thought it was a rota error and did not raise the alarm.
His worried parents called later that day because they had not heard from him but staff were unable to find him on the hospital system due to a spelling error of his name.
Instead, his distraught parents were advised to contact police and make a missing persons’ report.
Consultant Dr John Whiting, who supervised Dr Zigar, said: “The doctors who worked with him said he was a good, capable doctor – so that’s why we offered him a post.
“I thought he was a very pleasant person, a little bit nervous which was not unusual for someone who had just started.
“Eduard was struggling a little to find his way around the IT systems.”
Birmingham and Solihull Senior Coroner Louise Hunt recorded a verdict of suicide following an inquest today.
She said: “While he may have appeared nervous and not fully-familiar with the IT system, there was nothing unusual about that.
“There were no signs that something so terribly serious was going to happen.
“He worked on Saturday, August 25.
“There were no untoward incidents during that shift but he was noted to be quiet and detached.
