Daughter hopes coroner's inquest leads to better mental health supports on P.E.I.

The daughter of a woman who died after a suicide attempt at a Summerside hospital says the case points to gaps in P.E.I.'s mental health care system.

Lisa Arsenault has been present and asking questions during the three days of a coroner's inquest this week looking into the death of her mother, Angela Arsenault.

The inquest paused on Wednesday, and is expected to resume in late October.

"The last three days have been difficult for our family as we relive the events," Lisa Arsenault said in an email to CBC News.

"For folks who continue to struggle and those who have lost a loved one to mental health. We are with you…. We stand with you to uncover the gaps and ensure we see crucial changes come to fruition."

Angela Arsenault, 67, died of a brain injury after an apparent suicide attempt inside the hospital's psychiatric unit, the inquest heard.

The Tignish woman was struggling with depression and anxiety and had attempted suicide multiple times in the past. In early February 2023, she was rushed to the intensive-care unit at Prince County Hospital after overdosing on her medication in an effort to take her own life.

She recovered, and was assessed by a psychiatrist who admitted her to the hospital's psychiatric unit as an involuntary patient.

Staff was directed to check on her every 15 minutes. During the inquest, Lisa Arsenault questioned why her mother didn't receive constant supervision, given she'd just attempted suicide days before.

Psychiatrist Dr. Tanya Gallant answered: "Given she was no long expressing thoughts of suicide, and said she was grateful to be alive, I felt that [every 15 minutes] was appropriate."

In fact, a few days later, the psychiatrist said Arsenault had shown further signs of improvement, and decided to change the check-ins to every 30 minutes.

It wasn't made clear during the inquest whether that change actually happened.

Just a couple of hours later, during a check, staff found Arsenault unconscious in her hospital room's bathroom.

She'd hung herself on the shower curtain rod, and later died of a brain injury.