Jury recommends better supervision after death of Sinéad O’Connor’s son by suicide – National News

Sean McCarthaigh

An inquest jury has made a series of recommendations for better guidance and care for vulnerable young people after recording a verdict of suicide following the death of a son of singer Sinéad O’Connor.

The body of Shane O’Connor (17) was found in a remote area at the back of a housing estate outside Bray, Co Wicklow, on January 7, 2022, less than 24 hours after he was reported missing from Tallaght University Hospital at the time. when he should have 24/7 one-on-one supervised care.

A hearing at Dublin District Coroner’s Court heard that the teenager was taken to TUH’s emergency department by his mother on December 29, 2021, after overdosing on drugs in what is believed to have been a suicide attempt.

The inquest found that staff were not available to provide 24/7 supervision as directed by the hospital’s doctors. Evidence at that time that he had left TUH on the morning of January 6, 2022.

A senior social worker at Tusla, Joyce Connolly, told the second day of the inquest on Tuesday that Shane and his mother had a “complex and turbulent” relationship, but were also very close and “in some way dependent all their lives were from each other. ”

Mrs Connolly said the singer hoped to resume full care of her son and there were ongoing discussions to see if that would be possible.

Mrs O’Connor, who formally identified her son’s body to gardaí, died suddenly of natural causes just 18 months later in London.

The inquest heard that Shane had been in the care of Tusla since 2015 and was cared for by his half-brother Jake Reynolds – the late singer’s eldest child – and his partner Lia Petcu between July 2016 and May 2018, before being placed in a residential area was placed. healthcare institutions.

Asked about the rules on what Shane could do if he had chosen not to pursue education, Ms Connolly said there was a “delicate balance” to be struck, but that they had the power to stop him leaving to do what he wanted.

Ms Connolly said a committee met on January 4, 2022 to consider applying for a special care order for Shane – which would have given Tusla the power to deprive the teenager of his liberty – but postponed a decision because there was no report from the HSE. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

However, Ms Connolly said she believed Shane’s needs were more ‘mental health in nature’.

She said the teenager would have been actively encouraged to enter addiction treatment, but it was “an unfortunate factor” that he did not want to stop consuming cannabis.

Ms Connolly noted that he had reported that his life was better when he took the drug.

However, she said childcare authorities also had no powers to stop him accessing such substances.

Asked about possible improvements that could be made, she recommended “more work on building relationships” between the different government agencies involved in the care of young people.

Aoife Scanlon, manager of New Beginnings residential care home in Newbridge, Co Kildare, where Shane had lived since March 2019, said he had settled in well in the first year.

However, the inquest heard the teenager appeared to be deteriorating from July 2021, although Ms Scanlon said she could not identify a specific cause for this.

New Beginnings later informed Tusla that it no longer felt it could provide safe housing for Shane due to his complex mental health needs.

Ms Scanlon said they had continued to support him by providing staff to support TUH and Shane’s father, Donal Lunny – a leading folk musician – with 24/7 supervision of Shane following his admission to hospital.

The inquest heard that New Beginnings stopped assisting with such supervision under Covid-19 guidelines after Shane was deemed a close contact when Mr Lunny tested positive for the virus on January 4, 2022.

Mrs. Scanlon fought back tears as she remembered Shane as “a sweet, sweet boy.”

She noted that he found approaching his 18th birthday “a very frightening experience” as he would no longer have access to specialist health and social care services for young people.

“He struggled for a long time with being in care, but he knew he needed some support,” she added.

Mrs Scanlon also noted: “He was so intelligent, so smart. He knew he could make it in life and would have said something about it.’

The inquest heard that Shane spent his days in central Dublin and Bray and would get lifts from Newbridge.

Ms Scanlon said the reality of the situation was that New Beginnings operated “an open unit” and the teenager could not be physically stopped from going outside.

She believed he spent a lot of time with his then girlfriend in Bray.

However, Ms Petcu raised concerns about how Shane, at the age of 15, was allowed to be left “outside all day” to do whatever he wanted.

“What adult would let a child do that,” she noted.

During the proceedings, there was an emotional exchange between several members of Shane’s family, including Ms O’Connor’s father, Seán, and her daughter, Róisín Waters, which arose after a juror asked a question about the teenager’s access to cannabis.

The coroner, Cróna Gallagher, noted it was a ‘very difficult situation’.

Ms Waters left the hearing a short time later, visibly upset, and did not return.

At another stage, Mr O’Connor described how his daughter and Shane were ‘very close’.

“They loved each other dearly,” he noted.

Mr O’Connor outlined how the singer was also suffering from mental health problems around the same time of her son’s death.

“She was not in a position to do more than she did, and that was a lot,” he added.

A psychiatrist who had treated Shane at the Linn Dara psychiatric unit at Cherry Orchard Hospital in Ballyfermot, Dublin, Tara Rudd, said the teenager’s substance abuse had caused his mental health problems.

Although his condition always improved after detox, Dr Rudd said Shane never considered giving up his use of cannabis.

She said Shane had not engaged in therapeutic services at Linn Dara because he was unable to do so.

Dr. Rudd fondly talked about how they had argued a lot, but he always came back to apologize and joked that he wouldn’t invite her to his housewarming.

“Spending time with his family and having a place of his own was all he wanted,” Dr. Rudd recalls.

She added: “I am saddened for his family and this young man that he did not live the life he deserved to live,” she added.

The inquest heard that CAMHS had requested that Shane stay at Linn Dara for the final three months before he reached his 18th birthday.

Dr. However, Rudd said this was not justified as he did not have an active mental health condition at the time and it would have been ‘unfair’.

She told the coroner she believed the development of a specialist young adult mental health service, to help people aged 16 to 25 transition from CAMHS to adult mental health services, would be useful.

A panel of six men and two women made a series of recommendations, including that all HSE hospitals should have clear protocols for close monitoring of vulnerable patients, especially children.

They also called for a review of protocols for reporting missing people to ensure that gardaí would accept such reports from family members, Tusla and medical staff.

Evidence was heard that gardaí in Tallaght would not accept a report that Shane was missing to TUH staff, stating that this must have been done by Tusla.

Concluding the inquest, Dr Gallagher said the hearing involved ‘very complex evidence’ which was also ‘very weighty and harrowing’, but he expressed hope that it had been of some value to his family.

The coroner acknowledged that Shane had suffered in his short life, but that he had hoped as he grew older that he could ‘get through this time of crisis’.

She said she could only imagine the shock of his death to his family, noting he would have celebrated his 21st birthday in March next year.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the Samaritans toll-free 24 hours a day for confidential support on 116 123 or email [email protected].

You can also call the HSE and Irish Hospice Foundation’s national Bereavement Helpline free of charge on 1800-80 70 77 (Monday to Friday 10am to 1pm), and contact information for a range of mental health support is available at mentalhealthireland.ie /get-support/.

In the event of an emergency, or if you or someone you know is at risk of suicide or self-harm, call 999/112.