Psychiatrist says Hillary Hooper was doing better in days before her suicide in hospital
CBC
Hillary Hooper's attending psychiatrist said she had been doing better in the days leading up to her final suicide attempt.
In fact, Dr. Alan Fostey said he was preparing to discharge the 27-year-old Charlotte County woman from the secure psychiatric unit of the Saint John Regional Hospital in the coming days.
On Day 2 of a coroner's inquest into Hooper's death, Fostey said he believed that her condition had stabilized and that she was ready to go home.
He said she had also expressed willingness to continue treatment in the community.
Although several medical witnesses have testified Hooper was due to be released the next day, Fostey said he hadn't made that call — and that the decision rested exclusively with him.
Hooper had been admitted to 4D North, the hospital's psychiatric wing, on Nov. 13, 2020, after attempting to take her own life. Hooper, the inquest, has heard, had been experiencing mental health issues for a long time
She spent 19 days in 4D North, and Fostey said he had been tweaking her medications. He said Hooper was funny, and he enjoyed their sessions together.
"She was a wonderful patient. I really liked her," he said Tuesday afternoon via a video link to the courtroom.
Hooper hanged herself on Dec. 2, 2020, in the bathroom of her room in 4D North. She spent a week on life-support, before her family made the decision to remove her.
Pathologist Dr. Marek Godlewski testified Tuesday that a lack of oxygen had resulted in changes to Hooper's brain that were incompatible for life.
After two days of testimony, the five-member inquest panel has heard from 15 witnesses, including the nurse who found Hooper during routine rounds on Dec. 2, 2020.
Registered nurse Karen Wood said she initially checked Hooper's room during the 11 p.m. rounds and couldn't see her through the window in the door. Nor could she open the door because of something blocking it. She later determined that a hospital bed had been dragged in front of the door.
Unable to get in at that time, Wood said she continued with her rounds — estimating this took her between 30 and 60 seconds — before asking another nurse for assistance.
The pair managed to open the door at about 11:05, and although the room was dark, light was visible from the bathroom.
A Brampton lawyer allegedly connected to fugitive Ryan Wedding was granted bail Tuesday morning by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Rankin Inlet hamlet councillors recently passed a motion that has had them avoid drinking alcohol for the 12 days leading up to Christmas, with the goal of setting a positive example for the community.
Jason Jacques says he learned a lot about the importance of choosing his words carefully in his first few months as the interim parliamentary budget officer (PBO).
Durham police say a man is dead after suffering multiple stab wounds in Oshawa Tuesday morning.
An internal review of technical outages that caused significant delays at airports and international land borders this fall has exposed critical flaws with the Canada Border Services Agency's IT services.
Two people are in life-threatening condition after being pulled from a house fire in Scarborough Tuesday morning, according to Toronto Fire Services.
Whenever the door opens at the British Grenadier Bookshop, proprietor Steve Douglas doesn’t know who is going to walk through.
A northeastern Ontario potato farmer says he’s shipping more bags of potatoes to southern Ontario to make up for waning demand.
Halifax’s registry of rental properties is now available to the public online, showing what HRM staff believe are the “bulk” of rentals in the city.
A New Brunswick tenant says he’s being pushed out of his rented bungalow as retribution for complaining about his landlord, but his landlord says she’s the victim of an unfair tenancy tribunal ruling that is preventing her from using the unit to house family.
Snow and freezing rain could affect morning commutes on Tuesday, according to a special weather statement issued by Environment Canada.
Daniel Jolivet, 68, had his first taste of freedom this weekend after spending the last 33 years behind bars.
Peguis First Nation is suing former chief Glenn Hudson over allegations he failed to act in the best interest of the band and financially benefitted from breaches of duty — including claims that he enriched himself, his family and supporters.