Tragic killing of mother is a wake-up call on mental illness and hospital admission
A patient who refuses treatment can lose touch with reality, hear voices, become paranoid and even imagine a family member or neighbour is planning to do them harm. File picture
The tragic killing of Neasa Murray by her son Brendan, who suffers from a severe and enduring mental illness, schizo-affective disorder, is surely a wake-up call to well-meaning patient advocate groups who support the recommended changes to our Mental Health Act 2001, some of which may put mental health patients and their families at greater risk.
In the light of Ireland’s commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, there was a belief among mental health advocates that the courts in Ireland interpret mental health legislation in a paternalistic way.
