A FORMER Royal Navy man who lost part of his leg in a field gun accident died after taking powerful painkillers for a decade, an inquest has heard.

Anthony 'Rob' McLoughlin died aged 46 on Sunday July 13, 2008 at his home in Underwood Road, Plympton, having earlier been released from Derriford Hospital.

The inquest heard medical staff "converted" him to methadone after a decade of him taking increasing amounts of the painkiller dihydracodeine.

His painkiller addiction followed an accident in 1985 when his leg was crushed during training with Devonport field gun crew. He had previously been a steward aboard frigate HMS Ardent.

Due to complications and gangrene, his leg was amputated below the knee. In the following years he trialled as a sprinter and shot-putter for the Paralympics, and retrained as a hospital operating theatre technician.

However, after contracting MRSA he was forced to give up his medical career. He then began to suffer 'phantom' pain in his missing leg, requiring increasing doses of painkillers.

In late June 2008 he was admitted to hospital with pneumonia and dihydracodeine withdrawal.

Deputy coroner Andrew Cox heard how hospital staff convinced him to convert to methadone, which was regarded by medics as safer. But following his discharge, a misunderstanding resulted in Rob being unable to get medication over the following weekend and he again suffered withdrawal symptoms. He eventually received a daily prescription to be taken at home. His GP, Dr Martin Rankin, noted Rob had previously refused to go onto methadone due to its social stigma, missing numerous appointments with Harbour and pain specialists. Dr Rankin said Rob was not the "stereotypical Daily Mail drug user" but had "become addicted to medicines to control his pain".

He said: "He was a fine man who loved his family. All the staff [at the surgery] miss him. He was a lovely guy. He was very capable, very intelligent. People warmed to him. He could really have made something of his life."

His wife Katherine McLoughlin, an occupational therapist, said Rob appeared "really out of it" when he took methadone.

He was again taken to Derriford Hospital in July 2008 after she found him unconscious on the bathroom floor. He remained there – at one stage on a ventilator – until he was discharged on a Friday, but this time with a weekend's supply of methadone.

She said he seemed "bright and cheery" on the Saturday morning, but after he went on a visit to Plymouth he came back "acting weird", fluctuating between "being loud and making no sense".

During the inquest it was suggested Mr McLoughlin acquired extra methadone from "illicit sources", although Mr Cox said there was no evidence to support this.

Mrs McLoughlin said the next morning Rob was found asleep at the kitchen table. He later collapsed to the floor and, despite the efforts of paramedics, he passed away.

A post mortem found a high concentration of methadone in his blood, exceeding his daily medication.

Recording an open verdict, deputy coroner Mr Cox said the decision to change the painkiller drug was "sound and medically appropriate".

He noted the former Navy man was "mortified" at the prospect of taking methadone in public alongside drug addicts and that doctors instead allowed Mr McLoughlin to take his dose at home for fear of him disengaging with health specialists.

After the inquest, Mrs McLoughlin said she felt there was inadequate provision for pain addiction treatment for former servicemen, which could be an increasing problem with multiple-amputees from current conflicts.

She said: "It's not just about coming off drugs, it's about managing pain. Rob couldn't handle the stigma of taking medication in front of people. He felt he would be treated as a second or third class citizen.

"I don't think the services provided met his needs. They could have tried to engage him through sport. He was very fit and had started weight-lifting before he died saying he wanted to do weight-lifting for 2012. Sport could have got him motivated again."

She said that more information should be given to families about medicines such as methadone, adding: "Rob was an addict and addicts lie. The medical staff need to talk to families to get the full picture.

"The assumption is that families should just deal with it, without the additional support of experts and no-one to contact over weekends."