An NHS consultant, described as “exhausted” after completing nine consecutive 13-hour night shifts, died from drug and alcohol toxicity in a hospital on-call room, an inquest has heard.
Dr Naeem Ahmed, 50, a consultant in anaesthesia and pain medicine, was found slumped in a chair in the anaesthetist’s on-call room at Poole Hospital in Dorset on 21 June 2025. Two syringes and a half-empty bottle of Jameson whiskey were discovered nearby.
Colleagues grew concerned when the doctor due to take over could not find him for a handover after his shift. Entry was forced into the room, where Dr Ahmed was found deceased.
Toxicology tests revealed fentanyl, albeit at a low blood level, and alcohol at 44mg per 100ml – approximately half the drink-drive limit.
Dr Patrick Waugh concluded the combined use likely exacerbated toxicity, leading to Dr Ahmed’s death.
The inquest heard that Dr Ahmed’s clinical decision-making on his final night was “faultless” and his record was “blemish-free”.
All his colleagues who interacted with him on his final shift said that he seemed his normal self and nothing caused concerns.
His wife Dr Laura Ahmed described him as “fit and healthy”, a regular gymgoer who loved mountain climbing in his free time.
He climbed Kilimanjaro with his son in July 2024 and had planned a trip to Mount Elbrus in October 2025 before he died.
She did not believe that he intended to take his life and said the blood results show his death was accidental.
The inquest in Bournemouth heard that Dr Ahmed was originally from Pakistan and had studied registrar training at Oxford and a pain fellowship in London.
He was appointed as an anaesthesia and pain medicine consultant at Poole Hospital in 2008.
At the time of his death, he had a private practice and had a flexible work pattern at the hospital that involved doing a lot of “challenging” work – mainly night shifts, long weekends and trauma lists.
This allowed him to travel to Pakistan several times a year to help his elderly parents but his wife said the work pattern was “definitely starting to get to him”.
They had been married 23 years and had three children together. She said he was kind, patient and detail-orientated.
She said he drank alcohol away from work as a “mental crutch to calm his mind” but said he would not drink if he had work the next day.
Dr Laura Ahmed said her husband had also been looking on Youtube for videos on reducing drinking.
She said: “He rarely lost a patient, but if he did it really affected him. He didn’t like to fail and was extremely careful with his patients.
“He was brought up in a culture where discussing mental health is highly stigmatised and was in a speciality that encourages the same – compartmentalise, move on and never face the pain.
“He admitted to having perhaps overbooked his two or three months, I think he was exhausted, physically and mentally.
“A few months before when he got the outsourced theatre list he said ‘why can I never say no, what am I doing, we don’t need the money?’ He was clearly frustrated with himself.
“The fact he used drugs and alcohol on hospital premises is concerning. I wonder about the impact his sleep deprivation had on him.”
Dr Guy Titley, the anaesthetic director at the hospital, said Dr Ahmed had a “unique job plan” which allowed him to travel to Pakistan and the flexibility also suited the NHS trust as it helped them fill gaps at awkward times, like Christmas and Bank Holiday weekends.
He said: “I encouraged Dr Ahmed to spread his flexible work over the year and tried to encourage him to take a more conventional approach but he was adamant it suited him.
“We agreed to review the situation if it changed.
“This year he was very keen to work through his hours so he could return to Pakistan in September. He volunteered for many shifts between April to June, which was queried by the rota maker.
“He was adamant this pattern of work was in his best interest.”
Dr Titley reviewed a number of Dr Ahmed’s cases over the six months before his death.
He added: “There were no indications his clinical work was at fault. On that last shift Dr Ahmed’s clinical decision making was faultless. There were no episodes of concern. His clinical record was blemish free.”
Dr Ahmed was on his ninth 13-hour night shift in a run of 11 at the time of his death.
Dr Hannah McPhee, an on-call consultant who worked with Dr Ahmed on his final shift, was called in to assist in the early hours of the morning.
She said his decision-making was “as I would expect”.
She said: “He showed good situational awareness. Whilst we were waiting for ITU I asked about his job plan and whether it was working for him.
“He said he did not feel it was entirely a choice as he had children who needed him as well as elderly parents in Pakistan. He said he finds it hard to do one or two night shifts and then return to days, he prefers to do a run of them. He sounded pragmatic.”
When she left she said she had “no doubt he expected to work the following night”.
The inquest heard there was nothing to indicate Dr Ahmed had accessed the drugs from the hospital.
University Hospitals Dorset had a controlled drugs policy at the time to ensure drugs are checked and monitored properly, signed out and any not administered are then disposed of properly and documented.
Neither the police nor the hospital could establish where Dr Ahmed got the fentanyl from.
The inquest continues.
