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Psych patient had history of suicide attempts, inquest told

A psychiatric patient at the North Bay Psychiatric Hospital received a conditional discharge from the facility six days after trying to commit suicide, a coroner’s inquest heard Monday.
A psychiatric patient at the North Bay Psychiatric Hospital received a conditional discharge from the facility six days after trying to commit suicide, a coroner’s inquest heard Monday.

The inquest was called into the death of former Sudbury resident Denis Blais, who died June 26, 2003 near the hospital, where he had been residing for several years.

Examine the circumstances
The proceedings will examine the circumstances surrounding the death and the five-person jury may make recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths.

Dr. Peter Clark, Regional Supervising Coroner for North East Ontario, is presiding over the inquest, which is expected to last three weeks, and District of Nipissing Crown attorney John Holland is counsel to Clark.

Lawyers representing the Blais family, the hospital, the doctors at the hospital, the North Bay Police Service, and the Mental Health Legal Advocacy Coalition (MHLAC) are also participating in the inquest.

Diagnostic dilemma
Dr. Susan Adams, chief psychiatrist at the hospital, was among the witnesses called on the opening day of the proceedings.

She said she first dealt with Blais after his psychiatrist Dr. Alexander Kolodziej asked her to provide a consult and a second opinion.

“It was a difficult case and it posed a diagnostic dilemma in terms of management,” Adams told Holland.

Major depressive episode
Blais, who was committed to the hospital by the Ontario Review Board in 2000, had originally been diagnosed as having bi-polar disorder.

But after interviewing Blais as part of her consult, Adams believed he was “quite clearly depressed,” she told Holland.

Adams said Blais was suffering a “major depressive episode” and felt he needed anti-depressant medication.

It disagreed
After a few months in the hospital Blais was recommended for an unconditional because it was felt he didn’t pose a “significant” risk to public safety.

The Ontario Review Board, which deals with people who have been found not criminally responsible for crimes they’ve committed, held a hearing for Blais in April 2002.

It disagreed with the hospital’s assessment of Blais and granted him a conditional discharge requiring supervision.

Ironically six days before the hearing Blais attempted to commit suicide through a drug overdose, the inquest heard.

The board’s ruling was given in May, but Blais remained in hospital for further treatment.

Supervised access
He was released in August, 2002. Less than a month after his release though, Blais attempted suicide a second time by slashing his wrists, throat and ankle and waited to die in his bathtub, the inquest heard.

A special hearing of the review board was held and Blais was committed back into the hospital and allowed supervised access into the community.

In June of 2003 Blais, who had been taken off his anti-depressant medication, was allowed to go out onto the hospital grounds unsupervised for two-hour periods

Hiding his thoughts
On June 25 he took his first and last trip onto the grounds, disappearing.

Blais’s body was found June 26 in a building close to the hospital where, Holland told the jury in his opening remarks, he apparently hung himself.

Dr. Adams said Blais had a history of “hiding his thoughts and intentions from caregivers.”

Blais would, on more than one occasion, provide reassurances he was feeling fine, Adams said, “that nothing was wrong, then behave in a way contrary to that.”

Able to manipulate
Dr. Kolodziej testified after Adams and said Blais had said June 23 he felt he was “losing his grip on reality.”

MLAC lawyer Anita Szigeti wanted to know if those words had triggered any kind of alarm.

Kolodziej testified Blais didn’t volunteer how he was feeling and didn’t engage in therapy.

As well, Kolodziej said, Blais wasn’t very truthful and was also able to manipulate and split his care team.

And three days later he was dead," Szigeti said.

Difficulty dealing
Holland gave the jury the background of the case in his opening remarks, stressing his words were not evidence.

Blais, Holland said, had been a phys-ed teacher in Sudbury for 15 years until injuring himself in 1995 while conducting a class.

The injury prevented Blais from teaching phys-ed, Holland said, and he also had trouble trying to teach other subjects.

“He had difficulty dealing with the changes in his life,” Holland said.

“He was depressed and on prescription medication.”

Stealing firearms
Blais eventually had to go on long term disability, Holland said.

In 1998 and 1999 Blais committed break and enters in Sudbury, stealing firearms, but was found not criminally responsible.

He was committed to the Royal Ottawa Hospital and eventually sent to North Bay.