Suicides in Quebec: Coroner wants friends and family included in mental health care

Jun 14, 2023 | 1:36 PM

MONTREAL — A Quebec coroner says the province’s Health Department should do more to involve friends and family members in the treatment of people suffering from mental health issues and addictions in order to prevent suicides.

Coroner Julie-Kim Godin says that consent forms used in the health-care system should be changed to ask people whether they agree to have their medical information shared with loved ones, who she says often want to help but are frequently shut out of the treatment process.

The recommendation is one of 63 directed at the Health Department, regional health authorities, police and other organizations in a wide-ranging report on suicides in the province.

Godin investigated five suicides in a public inquest that was called in 2019.