N.B. family hopes inquest will give answers on daughter’s death

The family of 16-year-old Lexi Daken are hoping a public inquest will provide answers into what happened the night the teenager sought mental health help at a Fredericton hospital emergency room almost three years ago.

The coroner’s inquest is scheduled to begin Monday, Nov. 6 and last five days.

It will focus on the circumstances surrounding the death of Daken, who took her own life on Feb. 24, 2021.

But not before she tried to get help. Six days before her death, Daken went to the emergency room of the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital with her guidance counsellor. It was believed she was experiencing suicidal ideation, but after waiting eight hours to see a psychiatrist, was sent home without being seen.

And while improvements have been made to the mental health care system since, her father, Chris, is hoping the inquest sparks even more change.

“She always said that she wanted to help people when she got older,” he said in an interview with CTV Atlantic Friday. “So if this was her way of doing it, I'm happy to carry the torch.”

A jury is expected to be selected Monday morning, and will make recommendations at the end of the inquest.

Daken’s death sparked widespread debate over gaps in the province’s mental health-care system.

Green Party leader David Coon says he’s hoping the inquest results in more structural change within the E.R.

“The only way I see the E.R. wait times and workload being resolved is if the administrators of our hospitals are finally given some authority, some management authority to resolve those problems. They don't have it,” he said. “I've been at this for a long time. And constantly what I hear is, from Horizon managers, they don't have a sense of urgency and understanding that the local hospital administrator, the staff, medical staff have about the situations, the pressure cooker situations that need to be relieved.”

New Brunswick’s Horizon Health Network has made improvements in its approach to mental health care, connecting adults with help within 24 to 48 hours.

The aim is to get people the help they need within a day or two to prevent any illness or issue from getting worse.

Rankyn Campbell, a licensed therapist and founder of Campbell Health, says the impact of Lexi’s death is still being felt.

He says people may have different reactions to next week’s inquest. But it’s a reminder that everyone deserves access to good mental health care.

“Regardless of where you live, the age that you are, the background or the race that you come from, you should be being able to access care in that moment. And a lot of times, that care, it’s life saving,” he said.

Daken will be at the inquest every day, hoping he’ll have more answers at the end.

“I've always said from day one that I hope that changes can be made from Lexi's death for the betterment of mental health in the province,” he said. 

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