THE son of man who had complained to doctors of abdominal pain for months before his death thinks that his non-diagnosis led to mental health issues.

Michael George Pierce, from Yarpole, died from an abdominal bleed on October 30 after various visits to doctors complaining of pain.

Herefordshire deputy coroner Roland Wooderson concluded that Mr Pierce died of natural causes at an inquest into his death last Wednesday.

Mr Wooderson said Mr Pierce died of an abdominal bleed caused by an ulcer and the 77-year-old had a history of anxiety and was referred to the Stonebow unit on October 5.

On October 29, he was found lying on his back on the floor and was seen by a doctor but showed no sign of injury.

On the morning of October 30 his condition deteriorated and he was admitted to A&E where he went into cardiac arrest and died.

Dr JR Voysey, GP at Kingsland Medical Practice, said Mr Pierce had suffered from lower abdomen pain for several months.

Dr Voysey said had been referred to Hereford County Hospital who said it was as a result of constipation.

Stephen Pierce said his father had been in pain for a prolonged period of time leading to his death.

“He was worried he was seriously ill and made attempts to discover what was going on,” added Mr Pierce.

“This led to a lack of sleep and I felt the process of diagnosis was so prolonged for my father that his mental health was affected.

“If he had access to health care in a timely manner we wouldn’t have been here today.”

Mr Wooderson said this may or may not have been the case but there was no evidence to support the theory.