Mayo coroner urges action on 'poor relation' of health services

THE Coroner for Mayo has issued an urgent call for additional funding and staffing of the mental health units, describing psychiatric illness as the ‘poor relation’ of health services.

Patrick O’Connor made the comments after returning a verdict of misadventure at an inquest into the death of a 39-year-old man who died in 2018.

The deceased was under the care of the Mayo Mental Health Service.

He was found dead on the bedroom floor of his residence after his mother raised the alarm, informing gardaí that she was worried about him.

Medical evidence was given at the hearing that the cause of death was sudden cardiac arrhythmia due to an accidental overdose of amisulpride, an anti-psychotic drug prescribed to relieve the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Coroner O’Connor said the deceased had not intended to overdose, adding: “Unfortunately, he made a mistake.”

He continued: “It is a well-known fact that psychiatric illness is very common. Unfortunately, it tends to be treated as a poor relation of the country’s health service.”

Additional funding and staffing of mental health units is required, the coroner recommended, adding that the ‘full resources of the State’ need to be directed at the sector.