'Brian should be alive today': Mother who lost son to suicide says health system failed him
On December 2014, Brian David Geisheimer, 30, died after walking away from the psych ward at Abbotsford Regional Hospital. His mother, Lorraine Johnson, believes the system failed him because of the rules in place around patient privacy and the parent's ability to intervene in the care of a mentally ill child.
"We were not given any direction, any communication for how to support Brian. We weren't included in his health plan," Johnson tells The Current's guest host Piya Chattopadhyay.
Johnson testified earlier this week about the death of her son at a coroner's inquest looking into three cases at the Abbotsford Regional Hospital involving mentally ill patients.
"The nurses assured me repeatedly over keeping a close eye on him — he was high risk." Johnson tells Chattopadhyay that her son was a smoker and allowed to take unsupervised smoke breaks on his own by signing himself out of the ward.
Before Geisheimer was found dead, Johnson said her son stormed out of the hospital telling nurses, "I'm in pain, I need help."
Johnson says her son was certified as a danger to himself and that he was not of sound mind but was given the right to make his own decisions while in hospital.
Johnson hopes the inquest will implement changes that include more locked-down psych wards to keep patients safe and involve the family in decisions.
Family members should not feel excluded — they should be part of a care team.- Dr. Patrick Smith, CMHA
The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) has been researching alternative models to help mental health care practitioners by changing the way they provide treatment and manage the relationship with the patient.
CMHA's National CEO Dr. Patrick Smith recognizes families like Johnson need "supports and services as clients in their own right."
Smith points to something called Advanced Directives — an agreement where in the moment of stability, patients are educated about their rights but also about "the empowerment of involving family."
"It's the very rare exception that when the right process is followed that an individual for whatever reason, of sound mind and body who can make their own choices, exclude important others," says Smith.
He tells Chattopadhyay that CMHA provides fact sheets to families to educate them on their rights.
"Family members should not feel excluded — they should be part of a care team."
The Current did reach out to the Abbotsford Regional Hospital. They told us they are unable to comment during the inquest.
Listen to the full conversation at the top of this web post.
This segment was produced by The Current's Karin Marley, Sujata Berry and Ines Colabrese.