NEW YORK POST- A UK nurse died by suicide after the stress of working grueling 12-hour hospital shifts sent her in a “downward spiral,” a court heard Wednesday.
Leona Goddard, 35, hanged herself at her family’s home just six months after she received a promotion at Prestwich Hospital in Manchester, Metro UK reported.
The senior staff nurse left behind a two-page handwritten note describing her “negative feelings, a downward spiral and feelings of self-loathing,” according to the report.
Friends said Goddard had struggled to balance her new work responsibilities with her social life.
“Leona struggled with shifts she was given and found it difficult to maintain a social life around them,” college pal Daniele Hinds told the court.
Goddard’s mother, Corrine Goodridge, claimed the demands of the job also made it difficult for her to maintain a relationship.
“The shift work in particular got her down as she did a 12-hour shift,” Goodridge said. “Leona had not had any long-term steady relationship and the most recent one ended by text message.”
An investigation into her Oct. 3, 2018, suicide concluded with a court hearing determining that Goddard’s stress played a role in her death, according to the outlet.
“Having considered all the evidence read and heard, it seems that Leona was under a great deal of stress going on for a long time,” coroner Angharad Davis said. “She had very low self-esteem and did not recognize in herself the person that everybody else saw.”
