West Suffolk Hospital attack victim Richard Bowman dies

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An elderly man has died after he was attacked in his hospital bed by a dementia patient wielding a bottle.

Richard Bowman, 86, suffered severe head, leg and arm injuries on a ward at West Suffolk Hospital, on 25 November.

He died on Saturday, 12 days after the attack. A post-mortem examination revealed he died from natural causes.

The hospital in Bury St Edmunds and Suffolk Police are both investigating the incident, but the victim's death is not being treated as suspicious.

"The result of the post-mortem examination was that the man died of natural causes," a police spokeswoman said.

"This matter will now be dealt with by the coroner.

"Officers continue to investigate reports of an assault against the deceased man at the hospital."

Mr Bowman had been admitted to hospital with a chest infection.

A spokesman for West Suffolk Hospital said: "We would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere condolences to the patient's family.

"We are taking this incident extremely seriously and are carrying out a full internal investigation."