Nurse says missing woman had 'death wish'

A psychiatric nurse has told the High Court that a woman, who is missing and presumed dead since leaving St Patrick's psychiatric…

A psychiatric nurse has told the High Court that a woman, who is missing and presumed dead since leaving St Patrick's psychiatric hospital in Dublin eight years ago, had a "death wish".

John G Cahill was giving evidence yesterday on the second day of a claim for damages brought by Catherine Madigan's husband arising from alleged negligence by the hospital in its treatment of his wife. The hospital denies the claims.

Joseph Madigan, Bridge Street, Callan, Co Kilkenny, claims his wife, a primary school teacher and mother of one, had walked unobserved out of the hospital on May 14th 1998.

Her clothes were found on Bray Head on May 20th, 1998. It has believed she committed suicide but her body has never been found. A court order has been secured to the effect that she is dead.

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Mr Cahill referred to notes which he had taken during several meetings he had had with Ms Madigan (37) from the time she was first admitted to the hospital on February 5th, 1998, until May 14th of that year, when she disappeared.

She had previously attended two other hospitals with depression.

Mr Cahill said Ms Madigan had a "death wish". She was worried about her marital situation and on March 19th, 1998, she said she saw suicide as an option if her marriage did not work out.

Earlier, on February 17th, 1998, she had said that if somebody gave her cyanide she would take it and not be sorry about dying.

In April 1998, he had noted she had said she had "a vague plan in her mind" and she "knew she would eventually drown". On another occasion, she told him she should have been treated 15 years ago and it was too late now.

She felt that her depression was related to her marriage problems. On April 5th, 1998, she said she had bought 70 paracetamol tablets with "overdose in mind" and had considered jumping into the river while at home, Mr Cahill said. On April 6th, she felt quite depressed and was still suicidal. She felt she had ruined her life and had no dignity left.

Referring to May 14th, when Ms Madigan left the hospital, Mr Cahill said it was impossible to prevent people from committing suicide but there were precautions you could take to lessen that risk. Where those precautions were not taken, the risk increased, he said. When Mr Justice Richard Johnson asked Mr Cahill whether his criticism was due to the regime at the hospital being such that it enabled Ms Madigan to get out without being noticed, Mr Cahill said: "That is it in a nutshell".

Cross examined by Ms Oonagh McCrann SC, for the hospital, Mr Cahill said he had never criticised the medical treatment of Ms Madigan at St Patrick's.