A VOLUNTARY patient at a Dublin psychiatric hospital who had a history of self-harm left the facility and was found hanging in a bathroom of an apartment in a block of flats where he resided.
Brendan Gorry (38) of Charleville Road, Phibsborough, Dublin 7, was found hanging by a tenant of another flat on January 8th, 2009. Mr Gorry, who was a patient at St Brendan’s Hospital at the time, was noted to be missing from the facility at about 5pm on January 8th, 2009. He had last been seen at lunchtime and had not sought permission to leave the hospital.
An inquest yesterday heard Mr Gorry, who was admitted to the hospital at the end of November 2008 after lacerating his neck and who was diagnosed with psychotic depression, was not permitted to leave the open unit without permission of a doctor under the terms of his action plan. He had a previous admission in June 2008 until the end of July 2008 following an incident of deliberate self harm with a knife. Consultant psychiatrist Dr Miriam Gannon said Mr Gorry had been told he could not leave the ward without permission because he might harm himself.
The inquest heard Dr Gannon had seen Mr Gorry the previous day on January 7th and allowed him to leave the hospital to pay his rent. Dr Gannon said her overall impression on that day was that he had marginally improved and had no suicide ideation. She said he was deemed not to be at risk of suicide since November 25th.
Mr Gorry had left the hospital on December 24th and had purchased a ladder and rope at a store, but staff at the hospital were not aware of that, the inquest heard. A jury of four women and three men returned a verdict of death by suicide under the direction of coroner Dr Brian Farrell.