A medical worker who failed to seek help for his girlfriend while she starved to death has been suspended from his job.

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust yesterday confirmed radiographer Rod Stobart, of Colwell Gardens, Haywards Heath, had been "excluded" while an internal investigation was carried out.

A trust spokeswoman said: "There are clearly some issues that need investigating."

Mr Stobart admitted at an inquest last month he had chosen not to seek medical treatment for his girlfriend Clare Kelly, despite working at the Princess Royal Hospital, within walking distance of the couple's flat.

Alcoholic Miss Kelly, 45, weighed just five-and-a-half stone when she died on July 6 last year. She had only left the flat where the couple lived together a handful of times in the previous three years.

Her family told the hearing she looked like a "concentration camp victim" on the last occasion they saw her, six months before her death.

At the inquest at Worthing Town Hall on Thursday, March 22, Mr Stobart said Miss Kelly had made him promise not to seek help for her because she was afraid of doctors.

The coroner ruled her death was caused by extreme emaciation, which may have been prevented had she or someone else ensured she received medical help.

Sussex Police told the coroner the couple's flat had empty drinks containers piled from the floor to the ceiling and had a stench of cat urine and faeces.

The trust, which owns the Princess Royal Hospital, refused to give the exact grounds for their investigation or confirm whether it was directly related to Miss Kelly's death. They were unable to say if Mr Stobart would return to work.

Miss Kelly's brother, Nigel Kelly, yesterday welcomed the news. At the inquest he said Mr Stobart had blocked his attempts to seek help for his sister.

Mr Kelly said he was surprised it had taken until now, when evidence had been made public at the inquest, for the hospital to take action.

Sussex Police said it had opened and closed inquiries into Miss Kelly's death. Officers found no evidence of any crime.