Mother 'relieved' as inquest announced into daughter's death in N.B. psychiatric unit
CBC
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
An inquest into the death of Hillary Hooper will be held this winter, more than two years after she died by suicide, according to the Office of the Chief Coroner of New Brunswick.
Hooper, 27, was a patient in the psychiatric unit at the Saint John Regional Hospital when she died in December 2020.
"The presiding coroner and a jury will hear evidence from witnesses to determine the facts surrounding this death," said a government news Thursday. "The jury will have the opportunity to make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances in the future."
The inquest is scheduled for March 13 to 18, 2023, at the Saint John Law Courts.
Hooper had been in the hospital's psychiatric unit before. After a November 2020 appointment with a psychiatrist, the St. George woman drove to the hospital, where she attempted suicide.
Once her physical condition stabilized, she was moved to the hospital's secure psychiatric wing. But three weeks later she succeeded in taking her own life.
For Patty Borthwick, Hooper's mother, this inquest is a long-time coming. She's been fighting for an investigation into her daughter's death for two years now.
In May 2021, she said was promised copies of reports and documents by high-ranking hospital officials at a meeting, but instead was only provided with the coroner's report.
Bill Wilkerson, the co-founder of Mental Health International, sent a letter to Premier Blaine Higgs in June 2021 asking for a provincial investigation.
In response to a right to information request, CBC was sent 52 pages of documents in summer 2021 relating to Hooper's death. Names, dates, times and most other pertinent information had been removed.
At the time, Borthwick called the documents a "disappointing waste of paper," and said what was left in the documents wasn't very helpful. She also said she wasn't given a heads-up by the health authority before the documents were released to the media.
The Horizon documents released to CBC made note of two recommendations that arose from the internal review of Hooper's death.
One was to create a safe place in the regional hospital — either in the emergency department or the psychiatric unit — for those in a mental health crisis.