Northland anaesthetist Richard Harding, who worked at Whangārei Hospital, above, died in 2017 from suicide, as ruled by the coroner. Photo / File
The death of a Northland anaesthetist in 2017 has been ruled a suicide, caused in part by the stress of his job.
Dr Richard Harding, 47, died at his Whangārei home on October 23, 2017, after moving to New Zealand from the United Kingdom with his partner Kate and two
children.
In her finding, coroner Katharine Greig ruled Harding's death was a suicide which she said "highlighted a constellation of factors that likely played a role in his decision to take his life, many of which were associated with his work".
In the report, Greig confirmed the comment was not meant as a criticism of his role at Whangārei Hospital but rather an observation of the "systemic environment" in which intensivists and anaesthetists work.
"These highly-trained senior health professionals work in specialised and high-stress environments in which life and death decisions are part and parcel of their working days as is the risk of long hours and sleep disruption," the report said.
