A psychiatric patient was discovered drowned in a river hours after going missing from a Dublin hospital where he had been considered at low-risk of harm, an inquest heard this evening.
Minutes after the family of William Cook (59) from Whitehall in Dublin, visited him at St Vincent's Hospital in Fairview on November 28th, 2004 he was reported missing.
Mr Cook, who worked for 39 years for Dublin Corporation, had admitted himself to the hospital as a voluntary patient four days earlier.
Shane Madigan, a staff nurse at the open ward, said Mr Cook had been categorised a low-risk patient as he had denied any thoughts of self-harm and had no history of it.
His wife, Mary Rose Cook, said he was smoking heavily, was not talkative and seemed uneasy on the evening of the 28th. Shortly after his wife, and one of their six children, left the hospital he was reported missing around 7pm.
The Dublin City Coroner's Court heard evidence from Noel McManus, a visitor to the hospital, who spotted a man meeting Mr Cook's description walking along Richmond Road away from the facility at around 6.30pm to 7pm.
He said: "He obviously was unwell, and was very unsteady on his feet." After informing the hospital he had seen him heading towards a lighting shop on the road, two members of staff went looking for Mr Cook in the area.
Mr Madigan told how they used torches to look into the undergrowth adjacent to the River Tolka on Richmond Road and called Mr Cook's name.
Mr Madigan said: "He was a voluntary patient, he was there voluntarily, we didn't have to go and look for him." After the staff returned without finding the patient, Mr McManus said he searched the area himself on the way home after 8pm as he was confident Mr Cook would not have travelled far.
"On my way back home I still wasn't satisfied so I went in and searched myself," he said. "In the headlights I could see a coat similar to the one the man was wearing - it was near a low wall."
Mr McManus said he had offered to accompany staff on their searches but they declined. The inquest heard when Mr McManus alerted them to the coat three nurses returned to search the area, and discovered Mr Cook lying face down in the water.
The pathologist confirmed Mr Cook had died from drowning. A consultant psychiatrist told the inquest Mr Cook had been diagnosed with depression prior to his death.
The jury, which returned an open verdict in the death, recommended the control systems and CCTV in place at similar care facilities be reviewed.
The inquest heard it was believed Mr Cook, who was dressed in street clothes, had exited through the main door of the open ward, which was controlled by a receptionist. The coroner heard voluntary patients on the open ward were supposed to be granted leave from a consultant before leaving the hospital.