Connacht Tribune
Mother’s cry for help before son’s suicide
The mother of a 25-year-old man who died by suicide told an inquest into his death she was looking for help but didn’t get it.
The man, with an address on the outskirts of Galway city, took his own life in November, 2016, following his discharge a month earlier from University Hospital Galway’s Psychiatric Unit.
His mother told Coroner for Galway West, Dr Ciarán MacLoughlin, that her son was admitted to hospital on September 21, 2017 and was an in-patient for 18 days.
She was critical of the decision to discharge her son and, in particular, the lack of notice given to her that he would be coming home.
She said she had tried to meet with hospital staff but had been left waiting so long on one occasion, she had to return to work.
“I was surprised when they rang and told me he was being discharged; nobody asked did he have somewhere to go.
“Yes, he was an adult, but he was still a sick adult,” she said.
She told the Coroner’s Court that once her son left the hospital, he refused to take the medication that had been prescribed for him.
“He wasn’t willing to go to the pharmacy to get medication – he just wasn’t right,” she said. “He thought this medication was killing him.”
Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Camilla Hennelly, treated the deceased at hospital during his admission in September 2017.
Speaking to the inquest, Dr Hennelly said he was a self-referred patient and that it had been his first presentation to the services.
“He presented with a three- month history of low mood, poor appetite, broken sleep and paranoid and suicidal ideation.
“He had been drinking for two years previously culminating in low mood,” said Dr Hennelly.
“He was abstinent on presentation for a period of two to three months,” she added.
She said he had been on anti-depressants but compliance had been an issue and he could not recall the name of them when asked.
In the early stages of his admission, he was placed on level two observations which involved him being checked every 15 minutes by a psychiatric nurse.
He was also prescribed anti-depressants and anti-psychotic drugs, explained Dr Hennelly.
“He engaged with the therapist and a recovery care plan was put in place and this was discussed with his mother.
“He denied any cravings for alcohol during his admission and on September 25, following review by me, I increased his anti-depression medication,” said Dr Hennelly.
She said on October 2, his depression symptoms were abating, as was his suicidal ideation.
“By October 9, I was satisfied that he should be discharged for therapeutic reasons,” said Dr Hennelly, before explaining that certain services are not available to psychiatric patients while they remain in hospital.
He was advised to attend the day hospital and group therapy sessions and was told of the importance of taking any medication prescribed for him.
Coroner, Dr MacLoughlin, said it was all very well to say he wasn’t displaying psychosis at this point.
“He was dead within a month by his own hand.
“There seems to me an awful lot of concern by his mother and it would appear that concern wasn’t taken on board by a lot of other people,” said Dr MacLoughlin.
His mother said her son did not leave the house for a month after discharge; had been so afraid at night that he was sleeping in the bed with her; and he refused to take any medication.
She said she had tried to contact Dr Hennelly at one point but she was on leave and her call was never returned.
Dr Hennelly said she was never made aware that her patient’s mother had called upon her return.
The deceased’s mother said she had reached despair on October 13 and called for an ambulance, only for the paramedics to inform her that because her son would not go willingly to hospital with them, it would be up to his GP or the Gardaí to sign him in.
“The ambulance person rang the GP to ask him to sign [my son] into hospital but the GP refused and said I have nothing to do with that and to ring the Guards,” she said.
Giving evidence, the deceased’s GP, Dr Denis Higgins, said he had no record of that call and while it could have been taken by another GP at his practice, he personally did not speak to any paramedic.
The mother said she would seek to find the paramedic to corroborate her story, should the Coroner allow it.
Legal Counsel for the HSE, Imelda Tierney, said that the deceased had been engaging with the services after his discharge from UHG.
“He had an 18 day stay in hospital – that is not often the case. He received detailed treatment over that 18 days.
“He returned to an appointment on October 18 so he was engaging with the system,” said Ms Tierney.
Coroner, Dr MacLoughlin, said it seemed his mother had a deep insight into the problems her son faced.
“Ms Tierney, what you are really saying is that all the professionals thought he was alright and the only person who knew how sick he was, was his mother – and who was right?
“I feel it is incumbent on me to make enquiries on this and see what the general attitude in the hospital is to this,” said Dr MacLoughlin.
He said he would give the deceased’s mother the time she needed to find the paramedic whom she said had called the doctor.
“I will reserve a verdict and any rider or recommendation until such a time as we have heard complete evidence. We will reconvene on June 28/29,” said Dr MacLoughlin.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
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The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
