Inquest jury makes recommendations after teen denied help at Fredericton hospital
CBC
A coroner's jury has made 10 recommendations to try to prevent deaths similar to Lexi Daken's.
The 16-year-old Fredericton-area girl died by suicide within days of days of being turned away from the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in February 2021.
Testimony at the inquest into Daken's death wrapped up Wednesday morning, and the jury of three women and two men began deliberations before noon.
By 3 p.m., they returned with their recommendations.
They began by endorsing 12 recommendations made by the Horizon Health Network in March 2021 after an internal review of Lexi's death, then added 10 of their own.
Much of the focus is on better public education about mental health resources, including making the information more readily available to the public, using brochures to help with communication.
On Wednesday afternoon, Lexi's father, Chris Daken, said he's relieved the process is over and hopes that Horizon Health continues to make improvements to how mental health care is delivered.
He said his goal all along has been to ensure that no other family experiences what his has.
"It's never really over. I still lost a child but I'm happy this process is done and some recommendations have been made and hopefully more changes can be made and we don't have to be going through this in another two or three years for another child."
Lexi Daken was a Grade 10 student at Leo Hayes High School in Fredericton. She was a gifted athlete and a high achiever academically.
But once COVID hit, without sports, social activities and only going to school every other day, Lexi's mental health began to falter, her father, Chris Daken, testified on Tuesday.
He said he didn't realize how much she struggled until she tried to take her own life in November 2020.
On Feb. 18, 2021, a guidance counsellor at her school noticed a deterioration in Lexi's mental health and took her to the emergency department of the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital at lunchtime. She wasn't seen by an emergency room doctor until about 7:20 p.m.
After talking with the doctor and waiting for the results of blood tests, the doctor returned around 9 p.m. and asked if Lexi would "contract" with her — to make a promise not to hurt herself — and be safe at home.
Changes are coming to residential recycling in Toronto starting in the new year, two councillors announced on Thursday.
Before a bitumen pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia’s northwest coast can be built, there's another box that needs to be checked: a massive investment in carbon capture and storage in central Alberta.
Jeremy Tunraluk, president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), is on leave from his position after he was charged with assault.
The head of Canada's Leaders' Debates Commission says the independent body should stop organizing post-debate news conferences and will make changes to how it decides what leaders to invite after this spring's leadership debate was surrounded by controversy.
The Alberta Health Services CEO who took over after a controversial firing in January is now himself off the job.
Standing inside her non-profit managed rental unit in central Windsor, Ont., Sue Pare points to a crack in her kitchen floor she can’t get fixed.
Five people were sent to hospital, including one person with life-threatening injuries, after a fire broke out at a fraternity house near Western University prompting a police investigation.
A rusting and derelict ship that’s been looming large over the waterfront in Springdale for years will soon be removed and disposed of by the federal government.
Greater Sudbury taxpayers will be paying 3.9 per cent more in property taxes in 2026.
When it comes to wintry weather, the Maritimes has certainly dipped a toe into the water with this week's chilly temperatures and snow.
N.B. Power is warning that the U.S. company it hired to build and run a billion-dollar gas plant could walk away in April — a move that would set the project back years, and possibly lead to power shortages in the province.
After Serge Belloncik suffered a stroke in 2022, he developed aphasia, a communication disorder affecting his ability to speak.
Sioux Valley Dakota Nation says its annual Winterfest celebration has been cancelled for 2026, with the southwestern Manitoba First Nation's newly elected chief saying there was not enough time or funding to plan the four-day festival.