Limavady couple advocate for reform of mental health services following daughter’s devastating death

A Limavady family who lost their teenage daughter to suicide only two months ago are calling for reform in mental health services. 

Jessica Glasser (18) tragically took her own life on May 3 after experiencing bullying, the loss of close family members and inadequate support from mental health services. 

ABOVE: Jessica Glasser (18) who lost her life to suicide in May of this year

Her heartbroken parents David and Mary Glasser are now pleading for reform of mental health services. The couple say they didn’t know the severity of their daughter’s mental health issues until it was too late. 

Jessica’s parents say more should be done by health professionals to inform parents of potentially life threatening mental health issues. 

As Jessica was 18 years-old at the time of speaking to a doctor, medical information was by law kept private by professionals. Her parents believe this isn’t right. 

Speaking to the County Derry Post, Jessica’s mother Mary explained how she felt an overwhelming need to share Jessica’s story and speak out to decrease the stigma around mental health. 

Mary said her daughter was ‘a hard worker with a determined nature’ who was ‘destined to go far’. Jessica was also someone who cared deeply for other people and animals. 

“To us Jessica was the perfect daughter. Her caring nature was above and beyond. She was a real loyal friend. Her friend emigrated to Australia when she was only 13 and they continued to keep in contact every day. She was very independent and knew right from wrong. She loved music and going to concerts, especially Taylor Swift. I took her to the Era’s Tour as her 18th birthday present and she absolutely loved it. She loved socialising, she was the listener for her many friends,” Mary said.

Jessica's dad David said Jessica had a real passion for animals. Since the age of three Jessica wanted to be a veterinary nurse. She voluntarily worked in the local vets once a week and had applied to college to undertake the course of her dreams. An acceptance letter came to the house shortly after her passing. 

Mary said she and her husband David never spotted any signs that Jessica was struggling with her mental health. 

It was two months after Jessica’s 18th birthday that Mary was notified by one of daughter’s friends that she was struggling and had been self-harming as a means of coping. 

Upon hearing this, Mary sat down with Jessica and suggested that it might be a good idea to go speak to a doctor about what she was going through. Jessica agreed and wanted to get help so they set up an appointment with the doctor.  

As a precautionary measure Mary thought she should get in touch with a local mental health nurse. She spoke to a nurse and expressed her concerns around her daughter’s self-harm and her concerns that when speaking to a doctor she might not fully open up. 

“I decided not to go into the doctor with her that day as I thought it might put her off opening up fully. She hadn’t told me at home up until that point so I trusted her to tell the doctor all she was going through. She did end up telling the doctor and they put her on anti-depressant medication Fluoxetine.”

David continued: “Five days after being put on medication the doctor rang to see how she was getting on. It was close to Christmas and no follow up was made until contact came from the mental health nurse on December 30. The call focused on medication. The doctor then saw her a third time and recommended that she have an appointment with the mental health nurse. Unfortunately a day before the appointment we got a phone call to say it had been cancelled. Jessica was on a weekly medication that needed to be collected so we rang and the doctor said they couldn’t prescribe it without seeing her. So she went to see him to reissue the medication. During the appointment he thought she was doing ok and wasn’t at risk of suicide.” 

The reissue of the appointment to see the mental health nurse never came. Jessica’s parents shared how they didn’t want to put pressure on the health service and waited patiently on their call. 

Between January 16 until her death on May 3 Jessica never had a face-to-face mental health assessment to arrange counselling or any other form of support even though she was prescribed medication. 

It was only after Jessica’s passing that her parents were told of the extent to which she was suffering. Jessica had shared with the doctor that she had made two previous attempts to take her life.

Jessica had also explained to the doctor about her upcoming A-level exams and how this was a trigger point. Jessica ended up taking her own life on the night of leavers. Mary said this showed how this was a trigger for her. 

“They did say to Jessica if you need us, you contact us. How does somebody struggling with their mental health have the ability to know what is going on to make that contact? To me mental health patients do not have the ability to think for themselves. It is like someone with dementia being left to make their own decisions. We just don’t do it so why is mental health treated differently,” Mary said.

The couple are now calling for medical records of mental health patients to be open to someone they trust. They believe if proper communication from health professionals was put in place then their daughter’s death could’ve been avoidable. 

David continued: “If we had a bit more information, even just ‘your daughter is vulnerable, keep an eye on her’ we could have approached Jessica in a way that she would've opened up and we could've got her more support. She may have been 18 but she hadn’t even made it out into the adult world when she was still at school. Even after the first appointment they could have said to Jessica if she wanted to bring her parents along then she could. Yes, we knew Jessica was self-harming but we didn’t know she had attempted to take her life twice already. We could have put more in place if we knew that information.”

Mary added: “As far as we are concerned we did not know that vital information that she was in a more vulnerable position than we initially thought. That was the key to Jessica’s death in our opinion. We are not saying we need all access to medical records, just mental health. If I had that information I believe Jessica would not be where she is. We could have been there as a support body. I am thankful to hear that this is now being implemented in our local surgery. It doesn’t have to be a parent that comes with you to an appointment, it could  be a trusted friend.

“I know people are being referred to mental health doctors or nurses but the people that know them best are their family and friends. They have said there are costs but there is no cost to having someone along to an appointment with a vulnerable person. That tiny bit of information could have saved our daughter’s life. There should've been more communication. There should have been a more secure network around her. I can’t forgive the health service for that. They took our beautiful girl. She had her life ahead of her, full of ambition.

“I don’t want any other family to feel the way we have felt. We wouldn't wish this on our worst enemy. We know we can’t bring our wee girl back but we don’t want this to happen to somebody else. Our lives will never be the same all because of one law. It didn’t matter that she was 18, she was still my daughter and I would’ve done all I could to save her. All we can do now is raise awareness and hope for a change.”

Jessica’s wish was to work in the Rainbow Centre for Rehoming animals in Derry. In her memory David and Mary donated £1,000 to the Centre. In return the centre named one of their newly arrived cats ‘Jess’.  

In memory of Jessica her friends have got matching tattoos and Mary intends to get one too, that way her beloved wee girl is always with her. 

If you are anyone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide or self harm you can contact Samaritans FREE anytime from any phone on 116 123, even a mobile without credit. This number won’t show up on your phone bill. Or you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit www.samaritans.org to find details of your nearest branch.

Local organisations that deal with thoughts of this nature also include:

PIPS: 028 7122 4133 pipscharity.com  

Aware: 028 7126 0602 aware-ni.org 

HURT: 028 7136 9696    hurtni.org 

ZEST: 028 7126 6999 zestni.org