Tallaght Hospital 'Locks Down' Balconies After Suicide

The suicide of a Dublin woman has forced Tallaght hospital chiefs to close off its balconies to patients.

An inquest at Dublin County Coroner's Court heard on Tuesday that Geraldine Maher, 43, of Summerville Park, Walkinstown, Dublin 12, was found lying on the ground of the hospital's reception area.

She had discovered to have thrown herself from the forth floor of the hospital and fallen to her death as a result.

Mrs Maher was a patient in the psychiatric ward and had openly talked to her psychiatrist about ending her own life six days before her death.

She had suffered from a personality disorder, alcohol misuse and depression, had to be restrained and secluded following an earlier incident on October 28 last year.

Prior to her fatal jump Ms Maher had shown signs of improvement and was only staying in the hospital on a voluntary basis.

Acting Chief Executive Officer of Tallaght Hospital, Dr Gerry Fitzpatrick, told the inquest that there was an internal inquiry after Mrs Maher's death and that the balconies at the hospital have since been sealed and the shutters closed.

Dr Fitzpatrick also said the hospital was currently seeking another solution to allow the shutters to remain open.

According to new figures released today by the Central Statistics Office, there were 460 suicides last year, which is 10 in every 100,000 of the population. Over four in every five of these suicides were males.

(DW)