The HSE has issued an apology to the family of a young psychiatric patient who took her own life while being treated at a high observation unit at Tallaght University Hospital four years ago.
Danielle Creighton (24) of Glenshane Grove, Tallaght died by suicide while under the care of doctors at the HSE-run Aspen psychiatric unit at TUH on October 21st 2020.
An inquest into her death at Dublin District Coroner’s Court heard concerns voiced by her family about the care she received as a psychiatric patient.
In a statement, the HSE’s head of service for Dublin South, Kildare and West Wicklow Community Healthcare, Mary O’Kelly, expressed regret and sadness at the young woman’s death.
Apology
Ms O’Kelly unreservedly apologised for the standard of care provided to Danielle, which she acknowledged was not the standard which was considered “appropriate.”
The deceased’s mother, Rhoda Creighton, told the hearing on Monday that her daughter had been transferred to TUH from St James’s Hospital on October 20th 2020.
However, she complained that she had not been told that Danielle had also tried to take her own life while a patient in St James’s on the day before her actual suicide.
Mr Creighton also claimed that her daughter was being monitored every 30 minutes, when she understood that she was to be observed on a 24-hour basis.
“Danielle was left on her own,” she claimed.
CCTV
However, the inquest heard that continuous CCTV monitoring was available after Danielle was placed in an isolation ward within the psychiatric unit at TUH under hospital protocols while she was being tested for Covid-19.
Although Danielle had her shoes, shoelaces and phone charger taken away from her on admission to TUH for her own safety, evidence was heard that part of a piece of clothing that she was wearing was found near her body.
The inquest heard evidence from a number of psychiatric nurses that Danielle appeared anxious and paranoid on her admission to TUH.
A staff nurse, Ciara Shields, said she had explained to Danielle on the morning of October 21st, 2020 that she would have to stay in her room until the results of her Covid test came back after she had complained of being bored and not having a TV.
At midday, she appeared settled when telling the nurse “all good things” about her boyfriend and family.
Ms Shields said she had not eaten her lunch but had explained to staff it was because she was vegetarian.
The nurse said she went down to collect food and other items from the patient’s mother around 2:30pm, with whom she spoke for around 10 minutes.
Ms Shields said she was in absolute shock when she discovered what had happened as Danielle had appeared “quite settled and pleasant throughout the day.”
Evidence
A clinical nurse manager at TUH, Brian McMahon, gave evidence that the patient was not in her bedroom when he went to tell her at around 2.50pm that her Covid test was negative, and she could move more freely around the unit.
Mr McMahon said he called a female colleague so that they could check the bathroom.
He described finding Danielle in an unresponsive state on the floor of the bathroom with marks on her neck.
Mr McMahon said he started CPR on the patient after failing to detect a pulse, but she was formally pronounced dead a short time later.
A psychiatric registrar who examined Danielle in St James’s Hospital, Mawada Babiker, confirmed that the patient had tried to take her own life while in its emergency department.
Dr Babiker said she believed Danielle had experienced a drug-induced psychotic episode for which she required hospital treatment, and she had arranged for her transfer to TUH.
The witness said the deceased believed she was being persecuted by a group of people which she had linked to two individuals she had bullied when in primary school.
Dr Babiker said Danielle thought these people wanted to kill her, and she would rather go out “on her terms.”
Another psychiatrist, Ciara O’Connor, who examined the patient on her admission to TUH, said Danielle believed bad things had been happening for a number of months.
Dr O’Connor said she had admitted smoking joints of cannabis several times a week.
However, she said Danielle was glad to be in hospital as she felt safe.
While she had suicide ideation, Dr O’Connor said she had no active plan to end her life.
A consultant psychiatrist at TUH, Thomas McMonagle, said the deceased had been placed under his care, although he had not seen her before she died.
Dr McMonagle told the coroner, Aisling Gannon, that medical staff had become more reassured about her condition while she was under their care and her actions were “out of kilter” with her clinical presentation.
Regret
The psychiatrist said he had “a bitter sense of regret” over what happened but was uncertain if the outcome had been any different if he had examined her.
Dr McMonagle also stated that procedures in the unit had changed as a result of Danielle’s death, which he remarked had been the subject of “a considerable matter of soul-searching” within the HSE.
Offering her condolences to the deceased’s family on “a very distressing experience,” Ms Gannon returned a verdict of death by suicide with psychosis as a contributory factor.
Danielle’s father, Darren Creighton, who did not attend the inquest, had previously claimed in a newspaper interview that he believed that the violent death of her only sibling was a factor in her suicide.
Her brother, Dale, was assaulted on a footbridge over the N81 Tallaght Bypass between Greenhills Road and St Dominic’s Road in the early hours of January 1st 2014 in a prolonged attack that lasted 14 minutes.
He died in hospital the following day from blunt force injuries to his face and head.
Seven young people, including one female were subsequently convicted of offences in relation to Dale’s death with five pleading guilty to manslaughter, one pleading guilty to violent disorder and another pleading guilty to possession of a knife.
