A MAN from Cornwall bled to death after discharging himself from hospital, an inquest has heard.

In November 2024, retired Royal Naval Serviceman, Stephen Ravenhall was driving with his wife when he suddenly found himself in unbearable pain.

During an inquest into his death, his wife Helen described the 73-year-old as ‘an active man who enjoyed having fun’.

Despite being a heavy smoker with a complex medical history, Helen told the court that her husband, whom she referred to as Steve, was in ‘good health’.

However, on November 30, Steve began to experience severe abdominal pain while driving, leading him to pull over. During the episode, Steve appeared to go grey and fall in and out of consciousness, the court heard.

After an ambulance was called, Steve was taken to Treliske Hospital to be assessed.

Following observations and a CT scan, all appeared normal, although doctors still recommended Steve remain in hospital overnight.

However, the court heard that despite recommendations Steve appeared ‘urgent’ to leave.

Self-discharging himself, Steve was collected by his wife that night, who noted to the court that he wasn’t even wearing his shoes, claiming they had been removed by medical staff.

Helen told the court how, after returning home, all seemed well until the next day. During a trip to some stables with his wife, Steve’s pain began again. This time causing him to lose consciousness on three occasions.

As a result, he was once again taken to hospital — something which Helen told the court he was reluctant to do.

However, hours after being readmitted, Steve was found deceased having had a serious internal bleed.

A post mortem revealed he had a duodenal ulcer, which had gone unnoticed by scans and assessments.

Dr Ahmed Radwan, consultant in benign coloproctology and emergency general surgery at Royal Cornwall Hospital Truro, told the court that the observations which had been undertaken did not provide any signs that an ulcer may be present, while a CT scan may also not be strong enough to identify such an issue - though no other symptoms were present.

Following his death, the pathologist’s report returned the cause of death as 1a: hypovolemic shock.

In his conclusion, assistant coroner, Stephen Covell emphasised that Stephen’s death was ‘not as a result of any failings of hospital staff’ and that there was no usual indication of blood loss.

He added that it was easy in hindsight to say ‘what if?’ but that he didn’t ‘feel it would have been reasonable’ for investigations to be carried out in search of an ulcer.

He recorded a conclusion of natural causes.