Family says Michael Hanley was 'failed' after death hours after discharge

An inquest jury has called for an urgent review of the law governing the retention of adult mental health patients after Michael Hanley died hours after being discharged from a unit in Sligo.

The jury returned a narrative verdict in the death of the 37-year-old from Strandhill Road, Sligo. It found that Hanley died from multiple injuries after being struck by a train near Ballisodare on Sept. 27, 2024. His family’s legal representative sought the narrative verdict, while the HSE’s representative sought a verdict of death by suicide.

Hanley had spent a week at the Adult Mental Health Unit at Sligo University Hospital before his discharge. The inquest heard that his family made 17 attempts during his admission to provide information they considered relevant to his assessment. It also heard that Hanley had asked staff not to contact his family, a matter raised by clinicians.

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Our family continues to be devastated by his death. The outcome of the inquest today goes some way to helping us understand the decision-making process at the Acute Mental Health Unit in Sligo, where Michael was a patient until a few hours before his death.

Dr Eimear McGuire, a consultant in general adult psychiatry, told the inquest that Gardaí brought Hanley to the unit after concerns from his family, including threats of self-harm on Sept. 18, 2024. She said he had been diagnosed with encephalitis in 2005, resulting in an acquired brain injury, and also had epilepsy and alcohol problems. He had returned from London after losing his job and had spoken of plans to return to work.

In a statement after the inquest, Hanley’s sister Mary said the family remained devastated and felt failed by what happened. “We tried everything we could to share crucial information about Michael with the unit, to inform their assessment, but to no avail,” she said. “We were screaming from the rooftops, but nobody listened.” The family said it would continue working to prevent another family from experiencing the same situation.

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We tried everything we could to share crucial information about Michael with the unit, to inform their assessment, but to no avail. We were screaming from the rooftops, but nobody listened.