A man described by loved ones as being the "life and soul of the room" took his own life over health fears made worse by the pandemic, an inquest has heard.
Barrie White died aged 46 at Kit Hill in Callington on December 10, 2020.
The inquest heard Barrie experienced various health problems prior to his death, Cornwall Live reported.
However, the coronavirus pandemic caused delays in receiving a diagnosis and understanding his condition.
His wife and father believe in normal circumstances he would still be alive today.
During the inquest his family paid tribute to Barrie, calling him a "lovely man" and the "life and soul of the room".
His wife Trudi said: "Barrie was a genuinely lovely man that everyone loved and up until the mid 2020 had never shown any signs of mental health issues or depression."
His father Charles White said: "Barrie was normally the life and soul of the room and always up for a laugh.
"But in the later parts of 2020 he became more and more agitated and anxious about his health and the lack of answers."
The coroner, Andrew Cox, said Barrie died as a result of drug misuse, in particular, an excess consumption of amitriptyline, prescribed by his doctor.
Mr Cox said: "Until 2020 Mr White appears to have been fit and well without any indication of any mental health issues or any anxiety problems.”
He said Barrie collapsed on two occasions in the lead-up to his death and there were “a number of investigations” carried out by the GP and hospital to try and find out what caused those symptoms.
Mr Cox said: “He’s had ECGs, he's had a colonoscopy in which polyps have been removed, he's had a CT of his head which has found early evidence of atrophy or shrinkage of the brain.”
He continued: "It's quite clear Mr White was very keen to have a diagnosis or some understanding of his condition and why he was feeling the way he was.
"Unfortunately a diagnosis or one overarching diagnosis eluded the medical professionals despite the tests that had been carried out."
During the hearing concerns were raised by Barrie's family about delays in his treatment.
Barrie's father, Charles, said following a collapse at Barrie's home, GP's couldn't determine the cause of the incident.
He said: "Due to the Covid-19 pandemic it seemed to take an extraordinarily long time for anything to be progressed."
He said there was a long delay in his son receiving his test results, meanwhile, Barrie was told not to exercise.
He explained: "Exercise was a way of releasing his anxiety. It was also something he enjoyed.
"With him not working and being able to exercise he found himself with more time to just dwell on what was wrong with him."
His family told how he began to search the internet to find what might be causing his health issues and ended up coming to "all sorts of conclusions".
Charles White said: "I do feel anger towards the health services for the way Barrie was dealt with in respect of his treatment.
"I fully understand that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused issues in the country and the health service.
"But I cannot understand how someone somewhere in the medical profession didn't pick up on the fact that Barrie was clearly distressed about the lack of information and assistance being offered to him."
Charles said his son had been prescribed 84 amitriptyline tablets, which are anti-depressants, in one go.
He said: "I find it disturbing that someone showing signs of distress, turning up at Derriford three to four times a week begging for help was not identified as a person at risk then given a large amount of pills that they could use to harm themselves."
He added: "I can only hope lessons have been learned and should something like this pandemic happen again that the policies around treatment of people requiring assistance are reviewed.
"Whatever happened it was too late for Barrie who I feel would still be with us today if he had fallen ill prior to the pandemic."
Barrie's wife, Trudi, said that following his first collapse he was taken to Derriford Hospital by ambulance.
But they had to wait more than eight hours for him to be seen.
She said: "We were advised that as this was the case it was unlikely he had a stroke but it may have been an issue with his heart.
"However, the doctors said because more than six hours had passed since the incident, they had not been able to determine anything from the equipment at the hospital, so the best thing was for Barrie to arrange to see his GP and he was discharged."
Barrie didn't get around to seeing his GP, but later experienced another episode and had to be taken to Derriford by ambulance. He was given an ECG test of his heart, but they couldn't find anything of concern.
She said for the next six months, Barrie had a "frustrating time" trying to get further tests carried out.
She said: "The Covid-19 pandemic seemed to have an impact on both the local surgery and the hospitals in arranging for the tests to be conducted.
"There seemed to be an even longer wait for the results."
She said: "I feel slightly angry that he was not given a good service by the NHS in relation to investigating his physical health issues.
"And that no one picked up on the fact that this may be causing him anguish.
"I accept the Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on services, but I feel in normal circumstances Barrie would have been diagnosed faster and still alive today.
"As it happens his test results were received in the week after he died and we've been advised he was generally healthy."
Mr Cox said he indicated to Barrie’s family that he was prepared to call medical witnesses to the inquest so they could have the opportunity to question them.
But he said the family decided they did not wish or feel able to attend the inquest to put questions to the witnesses.
DC Jessop of Devon and Cornwall Police was the officer in the case.
He said: "According to the family Barrie has become increasingly concerned over his health following two incidents of collapsing in 2020.
"His frustration with not getting a full diagnosis, possibly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, led to him becoming increasingly paranoid over what condition he may have.
"However, neither his family, or any medical professional, identified any significant major concern for his mental health nor any indication he may be intending to harm himself or he may be suicidal."
DC Jessop said there was no indication that Barrie was planning to take his own life, apart from a private message sent to his wife shortly before his death.
He also said there were no signs of any third-party involvement, and that Barrie had taken his own life deliberately.
Mr Cox said: "I note the family's concerns that there has been a delay in the conduct of those tests and a further delay in the passing of those results to the family of Mr White.
"But that needs to be put in the context of the national lockdown that followed the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"That undoubtedly made things more difficult for all medical practitioners and I accept equally, that would have only exacerbated the anxiety that Mr White was understandably feeling.
"It's quite clear to me that Mr White's anxiety levels have increased to the point that he no longer feels able to go on.
"I'm inclined to agree with his father and DC Jessop that there was no third-party involvement in this death and what's happened is Mr White has taken a deliberate overdose of medication with the intention of ending his life.
"That being the case the appropriate conclusion to record is one of suicide as I'm satisfied on the evidence it's more likely than not that Mr White has taken his own life and that he intended to do so.
"I would like to take this opportunity to extend to the family my condolences for their loss."
