An inquest today heard that lessons should be learned after a patient was found dead in the grounds of a Bradford psychiatric hospital one week after he went missing on an unsupervised cigarette break.

Angus Moon QC, representing the privately-run Cygnet Hospital, Wyke, was making submissions yesterday in the final days of what has been a four-week hearing into the death of 31-year-old Peter Barnes on October 13, 2011.

A post-mortem examination has revealed Mr Barnes was likely to have hanged himslf only a few hours after he went missing.

Mr Moon said: "Cygnet wishes to have the opportunity to learn from this inquest and in so far as there's any evidence about any changes not already made then Cygnet would value a report from you (the Coroner) which would identify those areas."

Cygnet's clinical manager Yvonne Morgan was the final witness to give evidence in the caseand the jury has already heard from Mr Barnes’s mother Karen at the start and from others at the hospital who had Mr Barnes in their care.

Jurors have also been told that the nurse who first reported him missing told a 999 operator that he was probably sitting somewhere with a couple of cans of lagers.

She had not been aware he had talked about ending his life or that he had been seen days earlier with red marks around his neck.

Hospital consultant Dr Keith Rix, who sanctioned Mr Barnes's unescorted leave that day, had also not been aware of the marks or the conversation about a plan how to end life with shoelaces either and that neither had those details been flagged up by nurses to the ward manager responsible for safety.

The hearing continues.