HEALTH chiefs have launched an investigation after a grieving husband criticised the care his wife received before her death.

Gordon Dedman, 57, who works for British Gas in Southampton, claims there is still a big question mark over why his wife Carol, 55, died despite a coroner delivering a verdict of death by natural causes.

Bosses at the Hampshire Partnership NHS Trust are to look into the standard of care given to Mrs Dedman before delivering their findings to her family.

Former playschool teacher Mrs Dedman died last August. She had suffered from depression since a nervous breakdown in 1997 triggered by her mother's death and daughter leaving home.

She had spent a year in The Meadows Hospital in Fareham, run by the NHS, and after her release was assigned a nurse and a support worker - who, to her husband's alarm, was withdrawn after a month.

Mr Dedman then became concerned about the cocktail of eight drugs his wife was prescribed to combat depression and anxiety because he felt they were harming her. He raised his concerns with medical staff at the Osborne Road medical centre where she was being treated. He claims nothing was done.

Frustrated, he wrote to Tony Blair three years ago outlining his concerns. A junior minister wrote back but again he says nothing was done.

IT analyst Mr Dedman told the Portsmouth inquest yesterday: "I had an agreement with the doctors that she would have support but they lied. She was suffering until she passed away."

He told the inquest that, on the night before his wife's death, he discovered she had fallen out of bed and her body had become rigid. After struggling to put her back into bed he was forced to give up and he made her comfortable on the floor before going to sleep in the spare room.

The following morning he went to check on her but found her dead.

He said: "It was a lack of support completely. They shoved drugs down her throat and left her but after years of taking this cocktail there had been no real change and I was concerned they were doing her no good.

"She needed someone to come in and help her do things. I was at work all day and couldn't. Really she just deteriorated and didn't get any better.

"After the breakdown she changed completely from someone who had total pride in everything to someone who couldn't care less. That was the depression."

A spokesman for the Hampshire Partnership NHS Trust offered sympathy to Mrs Dedman's family and told the Daily Echo: "Everyone concerned with the care of Carol was deeply saddened by her death. Carol was seen by the adult mental health service on a weekly basis, including contact with her consultant, care co-ordinator and day services.

"We are satisfied that the trust provided an approriate level of care for Carol's needs.

"We will be reviewing the concerns of Carol's family revealed at the inquest yesterday and will advise them of our findings."

Pathologist Ann Spedding told the inquest that she could not pinpoint a cause of death. It was one of the most unusual cases she had ever come across.

She said: "It is very unusual to not know a cause of death. I have been a pathologist since 1996 and this is only my third case."

She speculated that abnormal electrical activity in the heart or brain may have been the reason.

Mr Dedman said: "Natural causes still leaves a massive question mark. I would still like to know why she really died."

The inquest heard from Det Ray Hallett, who said that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

Recording his verdict of death by natural causes, deputy coroner Robert Stone said: "There are circumstances in which somebody's body just stops working."