Teen girl on suicide watch kills herself in a five minute window between checks

[Depressed Cat]

Sarah-Louise Doyle, a 19-year-old girl, was suffering from emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD) and anorexia. She was placed on suicide watch at a Merseyside mental health hospital in the UK for over two months.

On February 26, she managed to hang herself in her room in the five-minute interval between two successive checks at 9:25 p.m. & at 9:30 p.m. by a support worker. She was rushed to Aintree Hospital, but was declared dead at 1:40 a.m. on February 27.

I hope Sarah-Louise has found the everlasting peace she deserved.

Tragedy as girl found dead five minutes after check-up

Sarah-Louise had 'always seemed happy' but struggled with her mental health

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

 

[its-about-time]

Wow. That's a small window. In my local psych ward someone hung themself off the door handle over the door using sheets I think, in between 15 minute checks. Since then the ward had to add sensors on the tops of doors that sound alarms throughout the ward if there's any weight on them, changed the door handles so nothing could be attached to them, and made all patients mandatory 15 min checks (previously everyone was 1 hr checks except for suicide watch)… those sensors suck and randomly go off in the middle of the night… made the news though. I like to think I'm happy for people who find peace but I still think it really just is appalling that someone could accomplish it in the very place they're meant to be "safe" — I say that because many people become acutely suicidal and end up there for protection, and recover and once again wish to live … tragedy for them to die while short-term acute..

 

[Graytaichi]

She wanted it badly. I seldom say this but glad she made it.

 

[Foresight]

She wanted it badly. I seldom say this but glad she made it.

That's what I thought too. She wanted out. It's unfortunate she had to spend her last days caged away.

 

[Insomniac]

she only had 5 min and probably not the best rope. she still made it. wow.

 

[Ednospatient]

Only 5 minutes? She didn't break her neck so shouldn't it take longer?

RIP, I admire her determination even though it makes me feel worse about my attempts.

 

[TheBroken]

Hate the fact that pro lifers prefer this kind of outcome under the guise of "care" instead of supporting the availability of humane ways to end life. If people want to go they are going to get there one way or another so why make it fearful and desperate misery for them?

 

[FuneralCry]

Rest in peace. I envy those with the courage for hanging, the fear of failure is what holds me back from doing it. When I hear of people succeeding with this method, it makes it sound easy but of course it is very difficult to leave this world.

 

[Cathy Ames]

Only 5 minutes? She didn't break her neck so shouldn't it take longer?

RIP, I admire her determination even though it makes me feel worse about my attempts.

That's a pretty long gap between when she did it at (9:25-9:30 p.m.) and when she was declared dead (1:40 a.m. the following day). During those ~4 hours, she was still alive and possibly being worked on to try to save her.

 

[rabbitlinnt10]

those mental hospitals are an actual cancer to this earth we live on. Legit the most degrading modern discriminatory type of prisons. she didn't need to be put in there, did they think the problems that make people feel suicidal will just go away after spending time in the nut houses with security cameras and guards/staff treating you like you killed someone when you're the one who wants to die

bless her soul, she has peace now finally

Rest in peace. I envy those with the courage for hanging, the fear of failure is what holds me back from doing it. When I hear of people succeeding with this method, it makes it sound easy but of course it is very difficult to leave this world.

ik I see news articles of people dying from binge drinking and hanging a lot and feeel ashamed that I feel they're lucky but also realise you don't know what's it's like until you've gone through it, a lot like scary rides in amusement parks with the rly tall steep drop, it feels like only 3-4 seconds to people not on it but like 12 seconds to people on the ride

 

[Freedomindeath4me]

What a fucking hero.

 

[Insomniac]

worked on to try to save her.

so that she can be a healthy vegetable

 

[nopride86]

It's sad that things got to that point, but impressive. I hope she is at peace now and free of pain.

 

[Someone123]

Wow. That's a small window. In my local psych ward someone hung themself off the door handle over the door using sheets I think, in between 15 minute checks. Since then the ward had to add sensors on the tops of doors that sound alarms throughout the ward if there's any weight on them, changed the door handles so nothing could be attached to them, and made all patients mandatory 15 min checks (previously everyone was 1 hr checks except for suicide watch)… those sensors suck and randomly go off in the middle of the night… made the news though. I like to think I'm happy for people who find peace but I still think it really just is appalling that someone could accomplish it in the very place they're meant to be "safe" — I say that because many people become acutely suicidal and end up there for protection, and recover and once again wish to live … tragedy for them to die while short-term acute..

My opinion is that it is often appalling that people are prevented from ending their pain- there is so much effort made to prevent ctb but very little effort to make a person's life worth living- doctors, etc more typically exploit people for money rather than to help, though some peopl get lucky and are able to get a real recovery.

 

[deleted]

she only had 5 min and probably not the best rope. she still made it. wow.

Those who want to kill themselves will always find a way to do it and go all the way regardless of the circumstances

 

[Riddle]

Man 5 minutes? I guess I won't doubt Epstein's suicide again

 

[Ligottian]

...This becomes particularly noticeable in those who are driven to suicide through a a purely morbid deep depression. It does not cost such persons any self-restraint at all; they need not make a resolute rush at it, but, as soon as the warder appointed to look after them leaves them for two minutes, they quickly put an end to their life.

- Arthur Schopenhauer, Essays, 1858

 

[Pain In The Ass]

Wow. That's a small window. In my local psych ward someone hung themself off the door handle over the door using sheets I think, in between 15 minute checks. Since then the ward had to add sensors on the tops of doors that sound alarms throughout the ward if there's any weight on them, changed the door handles so nothing could be attached to them, and made all patients mandatory 15 min checks (previously everyone was 1 hr checks except for suicide watch)… those sensors suck and randomly go off in the middle of the night… made the news though. I like to think I'm happy for people who find peace but I still think it really just is appalling that someone could accomplish it in the very place they're meant to be "safe" — I say that because many people become acutely suicidal and end up there for protection, and recover and once again wish to live … tragedy for them to die while short-term acute..

Maybe it wasn't a 5-min check and the paperwork was quickly filled in afterwards to make it look like it was! I wouldn't be surprised with the NHS. And what did this 'check' consist of, just peering through the little window in the door? You're not going to notice a tied up bedsheet she's been working on intermittently between checks for the last hour! If it is correct, it shows you can die quite quickly from hanging though.

 

[Al Cappella]

5 minutes of the brain being deprived of oxygen is all it takes for brain death, give or take. They obviously got her breathing again, but by then she was gone, so to speak. That's my guess anyway. Learned all that (the brain bit) in first aid…

 

[its-about-time]

My opinion is that it is often appalling that people are prevented from ending their pain- there is so much effort made to prevent ctb but very little effort to make a person's life worth living- doctors, etc more typically exploit people for money rather than to help, though some peopl get lucky and are able to get a real recovery.

I guess it just depends on the individual in question. I do agree with you in many cases. In others, I don't. Im not the gatekeeper of "who gets to be suicidal" I just think the context of the situation is important, and some people simply just need to be kept safe temporarily while they get back on their feet. People who voluntarily admit to the ward in order to keep themselves safe shouldn't have it be possible to impulsively kill themselves while in the ward. That defeats the point of going. This site represents a rather extreme end of the suicidal spectrum, I'm not talking about us here, but I don't think we are necessarily the majority.

 

[myopybyproxy]

it could be that her anorexia weakened her to where she died sooner than the average person would, or her chances of survival were lower due to poor nutrition

 

[Nigh]

Poor thing, rest in peace. I have a feeling it wasn't in a 5 minute window... I was on suicide watch at a hospital and at a mental health clinic, and I noticed that during the day they were very thorough with their checks, but at night, for some reason they became relaxed, pushing back checking times.

 

[TheBroken]

so that she can be a healthy vegetable

Legally required .... but yes, so she could be a veggie.

 

[TheWood]

Kept in a cage like an animal in the zoo for observation. What a horror. These are things to strongly condemn and not pass for normal

 

[Shu]

That's strange. Here in Louisianauve been to several different hospitals they don't have door knobs the bathroom door is made out of like plastic or something and has Velcro on it so it will come off if you tried hanging yourself and nowhere else in the rooms have a place to hang. Sometime the bathrooms doors are like regular doors though. I wonder if the bathroom door was one of the regular doors and that's how she did it

 

[charlotte greentea]

Back in my day it was every 15 minutes and that was too little for me to get it done. RIP

 

[Soulless Angel]

That's strange. Here in Louisianauve been to several different hospitals they don't have door knobs the bathroom door is made out of like plastic or something and has Velcro on it so it will come off if you tried hanging yourself and nowhere else in the rooms have a place to hang. Sometime the bathrooms doors are like regular doors though. I wonder if the bathroom door was one of the regular doors and that's how she did it

I was wondering the same in the UK its all very much flat/curves etc, nothing to harm to hang from. I guess where theres a will theres a way,
Dear of her, I just hope she has found peace

 

[Cathy Ames]

so that she can be a healthy vegetable

Yes. Or at least they were confirming brain death before removing life support (with family's permission or whatever).

 

[Someone123]

I guess it just depends on the individual in question. I do agree with you in many cases. In others, I don't. Im not the gatekeeper of "who gets to be suicidal" I just think the context of the situation is important, and some people simply just need to be kept safe temporarily while they get back on their feet. People who voluntarily admit to the ward in order to keep themselves safe shouldn't have it be possible to impulsively kill themselves while in the ward. That defeats the point of going. This site represents a rather extreme end of the suicidal spectrum, I'm not talking about us here, but I don't think we are necessarily the majority.

I don't think this site is extreme an all- it is balanced in my opinion. Of the americans alive today at least three million will die by ctb- many people need relief from their pain here- a high percentage of these cases result from severe abuse whose results cannot be fixed or severe medical conditions that cannot be fixed. The life expectancy if less than 80 years- compared to eternity it's not much. People should be able to leave early if they are in too much pain, though I do believe that the younger a person has the most chance they have to turn it around. I guess it's ok for the hospital to prevent ctb in their setting, but they shouldn't be able to keep people involuntarily in my opinion. Ctb is not illegal in the u.s. any more- this is for good reason.

 

[noname223]

What a fucking hero.

Sorry I disagree a lot with this statement.

Just because she committed suicide (in a short time) she is no hero.

I am very oppossed to that notion.