A RETIRED Army officer’s death at a Winchester hospital sparked a police investigation, an inquest was told.

John Turner, 85, from Goodworth Clatford died on June 6 at Royal Hampshire County Hospital of a brain haemorrhage after suffering a head injury falling on the floor on one of the wards – claiming he had been hit by another patient.

Winchester Coroner’s Court heard how Mr Turner, of Church Lane, suffered from dementia.

He had been taken to the hospital with a chest infection on May 29.

He was transferred to McGill Acute Medical Unit then moved to Shawford Ward which focuses on caring for patients with breathing problems.

The hearing heard Mr Turner was ‘confused’ and unsettled, and urinated on other patients’ bedclothes, moments before an alleged altercation with a patient who Mr Turner claimed had hit him.

Staff nurse Alice Bushiri said she heard commotion coming from the ward. She rushed in and discovered Mr Turner on the floor next to Colin Carrier’s bed.

Ms Bushiri said: “Mr Turner was in an agitated state; he was trying to get up, and was unable to, he said ‘I have been hit’ but did not say by whom.”

She told the hearing that Mr Carrier was shouting that Mr Turner had urinated on his bed.

Mr Turner was checked by nurses, who did not discover any injury and was taken back to his bed.

However, his condition worsened and he was taken for a scan, dying hours later of a subdural haemorrhage.

The inquest heard a statement from Mr Carrier who denied striking Mr Turner.

Mr Carrier said: “I was awoken to find Mr Turner urinating on my bedclothes, I jumped up and told him to ‘get out of it’ he then fell over on the floor, I think he must have slipped on the urine.”

Det Sgt Nicola Barton said police took statements from other patients, with none of them seeing Mr Carrier ‘push’ and the investigation was closed.

Senior Coroner Grahame Short recorded a verdict of accidental death. He said: “On June 6, he urinated on the bed of another patient and slipped and fell which resulted in a blow to his head.”

After the inquest the family declined to comment.