A CORONER has ruled there is insufficient evidence to say whether a 91-year-old who was in charge of taking her own medication while living at a nursing home in Amesbury committed suicide or not.

Joy Spaght was found unconscious in her room at Amesbury Abbey on 29 December 2013 and although rushed to hospital by emergency services, she died two days later on New Year's Eve.

Her medical cause of death was given as bronchial pneumonia, Dosulepin (an anti-depressant) overdose and coronary artery atherosclerosis.

In recording a narrative verdict on Tuesday at Salisbury Coroner’s Court, Wiltshire and Swindon assistant coroner Claire Balysz said there had been no concerns regarding Mrs Spaght’s capacity to make decisions or her ability to self-medicate.

She said: “She saw her psychiatrist frequently and showed no signs of suicidal intent on the last appointment.”

She added: “Toxicology results showed she had consumed a large quantity of Dosulepin. It is not known whether she deliberately did this and although a [suicide] note was found, it was not dated.”

Speaking after the verdict, Mrs Spaght’s daughter Amanda Turner said: “The result is what we expected.

“If anything good has come out of my mother’s death I hope it is that Amesbury Abbey now has the amount of staff they need to keep patient’s assessments up to date and the bells are answered quicker when patients call.”