News
UHG failed to tell family suicidal dad was missing
The family of a man with suicidal ideation, who went AWOL from the psychiatric unit of UHG last year, claimed that his life could have been saved had they been notified about his absence.
Coroner for West Galway, Dr Ciaran MacLoughlin, said that it was a serious omission on the part of staff that the man’s next-of-kin was not told that he had gone missing – as was the protocol – until he had died, the following day.
“I thought my brother was in good care – I could have come to Galway, even though I had my own problems (at home at the time), we would have made it our business to be here,” his sister told the inquiry.
The father of two (53), who had a history of psychiatric problems and alcohol abuse, admitted himself into the 35-bed unit at UHG on May 7 last year – a week before his death. On admission, he had expressed the desire to end his life, but consultant psychiatrist, Professor Colm McDonnell, said that he seemed to be successfully engaging with the ‘care plan’, and was due to be discharged a few days later.
As a voluntary patient, he added, he could not have been prevented from leaving if he had wanted to go.
His family, however, wanted to know why at 12.45pm on the same day he left, May 13, a case worker from the Simon Community had been required to accompany him when he requested to attend a coffee shop outside the hospital grounds – but hours later he was able to leave alone.
Professor McDonnell said that although it was a closed unit, it was not a locked one, and he may have left without informing anyone. Furthermore, he said that he was not a person who would have been detainable under the Mental Health Act, as he had come seeking help.
“It is common for people to slip out,” he said.
“Accompaniment wasn’t medically prescribed… when someone co-operates it wouldn’t be a reason to introduce extra caution. On that day, or the previous day, if he’d asked could he go out, I’d have said ‘fine’. The plan was to transfer his care to community services later in the week.
“If he’d indicated that he was going to end his life, he could have been restricted from leaving under Section 23 (Mental Health Act).”
A note taken by nurses at 4pm on the day he left stated that he was “mixing well” with other patients.
But his family claimed that he had expressed suicidal intent on the day of his disappearance, and that staff were aware of this because they had contacted his sister.
She told the inquiry that she received a call to say that her brother was not in good health. She was asked to come and care for him, but she was unable due to a family crisis with her daughter in Dublin.
She spoke to him after he came back from tea with the Simon Community worker, and he was very down. She rang him later that day, but got no answer. She continued to try to reach him into the evening, without success, as his phone was turned off.
She later learned that he had left the unit alone at 5pm, but had not been not noted as missing until 8pm. The protocol was that family members be informed straight away, but it was not until a full 24-hours later – at 5pm the following day – that Gardaí came to his sister’s home in Dublin to say that he had died.
Professor McDonnell accepted that the “standard AWOL procedure” had failed in this case.
The man was discovered hanging inside the door of his home on the afternoon of May 14. He had left a hand-written note to say that he wasn’t able to cope.
Dr MacLoughlin said that the post mortem examination indicated that the anti-depression medication that he had consumed had been absorbed into his system, so he was alive for some time after that before he took his own life.
He made a number of recommendations.
Firstly, that when a person takes their own life, having discharged themselves from hospital, there should be a review of the procedures, to which the family are invited to participate.
Secondly, in cases where a patient has presented with suicidal idealisation, they should not be allowed to leave without the consent of medical personnel.
“While they cannot be prevented from leaving, permission should be sought,” he said.
“It is not that there is a shortage of staff – there should be enough staff to know where they are, and what time they are expected back.
“There was also an omission that the family were not notified of his absence until he was found dead – that is something that should be corrected in the future.”
He sympathised with the dead man’s family, pointing out the “alarming” statistic that suicide kills more people than road traffic accidents.
“Anything we can do to help people in that space, where they feel life is so hopeless for them that they have to take their own life. It is devastating for those left behind, and is a national problem.
“We will try to make recommendations to the authorities so that, in some way, this can be reduced… My heart goes out to you for the loss you have suffered.”
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.
On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.
But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.
“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”
We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.
Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.
To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.
He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.
Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.
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.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
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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
