Inquest jury calls for 24-hour urgent care for mental health
Man had been seen by doctors several times before death
Expanding Windsor's mental health urgent care clinic to a 24hour operation — to better serve people in crisis — as well as providing more training and better communication among police and mental health crisis workers, are among the suggestions of a coroner's jury that looked into a tragic local death.
An inquest into the Sept. 15, 2017, death of Windsor's Chad Romanick, 34, ended Thursday night with the five jurors making 15 recommendations directed at the Windsor Police Service, Windsor Regional Hospital and Hotel-dieu Grace Healthcare.
Over seven days of witness testimony, the jury heard how Romanick had sought help for depression and mental illness. That included one instance just days before his death in which police, describing him as delusional, convinced Romanick to be taken by ambulance to a Windsor hospital emergency department for assessment.
As with an earlier hospital emergency visit two months earlier, the father and husband was seen by a doctor and released. His widow testified at the inquest to challenges — including now, seven years later — in just trying to figure out where to go and how to find help in Windsor.
The jury recommended expanding followup procedures to make sure those in mental health crisis who are seen in an emergency care setting are then actually getting the required help. It also called for improved help for families and caregivers and for better access to community services.
At the time of his death, Romanick was holed up in the family home garage, wanted for attempted murder connected to an Amherstburg shooting earlier that day, and not responding to calls for his surrender by heavily armed police who had surrounded his property.
Currently, the downtown walkin Community Crisis Centre at 744 Ouellette Ave. is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The inquest heard that the dedicated “mobile crisis rapid response teams” staffed by Windsor police and Hotel-dieu Grace Healthcare mental health social workers operate until 1 a.m., but HDGH'S website states their operating times are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday to Friday.
While the inquest was mandatory, the parties addressed are not obligated to implement the jury's recommendations. The goal of the effort is to prevent similar deaths in the future.
As with all coroner's inquests, the jury's first task was determining cause of death and by what means. The conclusion was Romanick died from a shotgun wound to the head and that it was a suicide.
Even though the police officers, including tactical team members, dispatched to Romanick's home that morning didn't have background information on his mental illness, the jury was told it would not have changed their response. Police were attempting to arrest a subject considered armed and dangerous and deemed a threat to the public.
Inquest presiding officer Selwyn Pieters thanked jurors for their “appropriate and well-thoughtout verdict,” and said their work and the recommendations reached would make Ontario a safer place.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health emergency and needs help:
■ Windsor-essex Community Crisis Services 24-hour hotline: 519973-4435;
■ Go to nearest hospital emergency department;
■ Call or text Canada's three-digit 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline; free and 24/7 (similar to 911 for fire, police and medical emergencies).