An Oxford University medical graduate took his own life because he could not cope with living with long Covid, an inquest heard.

Abhijeet Tavare, 27, who lived with his family in Bushey, was found by friends locked in a car near Rickmansworth in October 2021.

Mr Tavare's mother had raised the alarm on the morning of October 29 after she found suicide notes in her son's bedroom, a coroners court heard on Wednesday (April 6).

In a statement from Mr Tavare's GP which was read to the inquest, it was revealed that the son, known as Abhi to friends, had contracted Covid-19 in September 2020, which he initially recovered from, only for symptoms of Long-Covid to emerge.

The inquest was told he reported he was suffering from palpitations, difficulty sleeping, extreme fatigue, as well as cognitive decline caused by brain fog - the latter meant he could no longer work for the famed McKinsey international management consulting company and moved back home with his mother.

Mr Tavare had already seen five different doctors and therapists for his physical and mental health issues, all to no avail.

He was prescribed sleep medication by his GP and it was recorded in the inquest that no mention of self-harm or suicidal ideation was reported.

Watford Observer: Abhijeet Tavare. Credit: HNP Picture Desk/Hyde News & Pictures LtdAbhijeet Tavare. Credit: HNP Picture Desk/Hyde News & Pictures Ltd

On October 29 2021, police declared Mr Tavare, who was described as an "extremely talented man", as a high risk missing person and launched a search along with his junior doctor friends.

CCTV and phone tracking helped pinpoint a location near Rickmansworth.

A statement from Abhi's friend and search-party member, Rebecca Evans, revealed what had happened on the night he died in the Chenies Hill area.

She said: "I was at work at the hospital when I got a call from a friend who said Abhi had gone missing. Given that both of us had cars we thought to drive around and try to find his car. We drove around looking at all the country lanes with no luck.

"Around 10 minutes after this we saw his vehicle. My partner and I rushed to the car and my partner told me to stay back and call 999...We couldn't get into the vehicle as he had locked himself in.

"One of our friends brought a head-lamp and saw a large rock and threw it at the car passenger window."

Mr Tavare was declared dead by paramedics around 12 hours after he was first reported missing.

Assistant Hertfordshire coroner Jonathan Stevens recorded his cause of death as carbon monoxide poisoning, and concluding a verdict of suicide.

His younger brother, Aniket, said at the inquest: "When Covid struck, he [Abjijeet] stayed with my mum and worked from home. He felt fine for a little bit, but then he started rapidly declining. He was extremely frustrated by this. When I last saw him he was very different - we couldn't really talk about anything as his life was on pause.

"I thought he would ride it out like every other challenge he faced in life. He will be missed by a lot of people."

Following the inquest, the Long Covid Patient Action Group UK tweeted: "His name was Abhijeet Tavare. He was a son, a brother, a friend. He was also an Oxford trained doctor and McKinsey recruit who may have changed the world were it not for #LongCovid.

"I am so sorry that it came to this Abhijeet. Too many lost #researchlongcovid #researchME."

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