Mental health worker says team overloaded at time of inmate death in Edmonton jail

A psychiatrist who treats inmates at Edmonton's Remand Centre (ERC) says it's "remarkable" that more inmates in the facility haven't died by suicide.

A public fatality inquiry into the death of Timothy James McConnell, who went by TJ, got underway in Edmonton's Court of Justice on Monday. McConnell died by suicide in his cell in the remand centre on Jan. 11, 2021.

Both McConnell's family and Alberta harm reduction advocates have argued his death could have been prevented and say it points to wider issues with lack of access to mental health and medical supports in ERC — the largest jail in Canada.

Fatality inquiries are a legal proceeding before a judge to help clarify the circumstances of a death. While the judge can't assign blame for a fatality, they can make recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths in the future.

McConnell was arrested and jailed on charges of theft and shopbreaking with intent in September 2021. 

His mother Lana Greene said McConnell had ADHD, depression and bipolar disorder with manic episodes.

The inquiry heard Monday that 23-year-old McConnell made multiple health services requests in the months leading up to his death.

"I'm sorry to bug. I know I'm on the waiting list but I've been here four months and soon I'll be back on the streets, surrounded by drugs and hopeless addicts," he wrote in a request on Jan. 1, 2021.

McConnell was put on a waiting list for Suboxone treatment, which is used to treat symptoms of opioid withdrawal, in the days before his death.

"Please let me start my Suboxone treatment. I won't abuse this privilege." 

Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Curtis Woods was the first witness to testify in the inquiry, and told court Monday that McConnell had an appointment to see him about a month before his death. But the 23-year-old declined to come to the health unit at his appointment time.

Woods said it's not uncommon for patients inside the ERC to not attend appointments, and that there won't necessarily be follow-up. 

He said he'd like to see the remand centre hire a full-time, staff psychiatrist. Currently, he and two other doctors each spend one day a week in the jail meeting with patients.

Wood said he believes that the mental health and medical staff at the ERC provide a good quality of care, but said the mental health units are "packed to the brim."