Underscoring the need for attention to mental health...

...when suffering from severe dry eye. This is tragic.

Woman kills herself after eye care fears

A pensioner with a painful eye condition took her own life after becoming anxious that her new GP would not be able to afford to treat her, an inquest in Wolverhampton heard.

Mavis Blunt, of Hilary Drive, Penn, had suffered from a condition called dry eye syndrome, which can cause the eyes to become inflamed and had caused her considerable pain for five years.

The court heard that she was upset that her regular doctor who had been treating her was retiring. Her daughter Louise Whitton told the hearing yesterday: “She was worried about moving to a new GP. She thought it would cost them too much to give her the treatment she required.”

Mrs Blunt, a 75-year-old former dinner lady, was described as outgoing and sociable before her illness. Since then, she tended to stay at home and was generally more unhappy, said Mrs Whitton.