‘Our mental health system is broken’
Apology for husband of nurse who killed herself and baby
THE husband of a nurse who killed her baby son and took her own life has told the High Court that the mental health system in Ireland is broken.
Nicola Keane, a 34-year-old paediatric nurse in Crumlin Children’s Hospital, killed her seven-month-old son Henry on October 22, 2020.
She then left her home in Lucan, Dublin, and took her own life while her husband slept. Darren Coleman said he was told that his wife’s postnatal depression had improved, when in fact her mental health was deteriorating.
The court was told there were ‘many incidents of red flags’ that should have alerted medical staff to the possibility of something drastic happening.
At the settlement of his case against the HSE and Children’s Health Ireland (CHI), Mr Coleman said: ‘The mental health system in Ireland is broken. Mental health is not a priority in this country. Investment in mental health is a necessity.
‘People with mental health issues don’t receive the same level of care as those who have a physical condition.’
RTÉ reported that the chief officer of the HSE’s Community Mental Health Services for Dublin South, Kildare and West Wicklow apologised unreservedly to Ms Keane’s husband and her family, acknowledging the tragic and untimely death of Ms Keane and their son Henry.
The HSE admitted breaching its duty of care to Ms Keane by failing to appreciate that she had suffered from psychotic depression, failing to communicate this to Mr Coleman and failing to ensure Ms Keane received in-patient treatment.
The family’s barrister, Bruce Antoniotti, told the court Mr Coleman had been living in a nightmare since October 2020.
Mr Coleman, a primary school teacher, and Ms Keane, a paediatric nurse, met in school and knew each other for 17 years. When Henry was born, he had problems with sleeping and with irritability, but Mr Antoniotti said he was the apple of his father’s eye. After the birth in February 2020, Ms Keane began suffering from postnatal depression. The court heard she was referred to the community mental health team in Ballyfermot Primary Care Centre, but Mr Coleman knew little of what was going on. Ms Keane believed she had damaged her baby and that he did not like her.
She had a passive death wish, Mr Antoniotti said, and expressed worries she might do something to harm her baby.
At one stage, Mr Coleman was told he should not leave Henry alone with his wife.
When he told the lead psychiatrist in August 2020 that he was due back at work in two weeks’ time, he was told the care team were fine with this. He was never told his wife’s medication was subsequently increased twice, between mid-September and mid-October 2020.
Had he known the extent of her severe postnatal depression and psychotic episodes, he would have taken time off work, cared for their baby and taken steps to get his wife admitted to hospital, the court heard.
On the night of October 21, 2020, the court heard, Henry was not settling. Mr Coleman offered to take him into the spare room, but Ms Keane said she would take him as her husband was at work in the morning. The next thing Mr Coleman became aware of was gardaí calling at his door to tell him his wife was dead. He found his son’s lifeless body in the spare bedroom. The court heard Ms Keane administered medication to her baby before leaving the house and taking her own life.
Mr Coleman told the court that his wife never hid her illness from her medical team and repeatedly told them about her concerning thoughts.
CHI denied all claims.
Nicola believed baby did not like her
Told not to leave child alone with her