Man jumps in front of TTC subway and survives, but family says health services failed him

You have probably heard about a tragedy that occurred on Monday at Bloor-Yonge subway station in Toronto. At around 10:15 a.m., a man who was pushed to his death by what appears to be a stranger on a subway platform.

But there is another tragedy that happened just 15 minutes later, one you likely haven’t heard about.

At College station, Steve Peevers jumped in front of a train and survived. Emergency crews were able to extricate Peevers and bring him to hospital. That in itself is a story, but what happened two days earlier at the very same hospital where he is fighting for his life right now is what his family wants Canada to know about.

Sandy McClelland, Peevers’ wife, told Global News her husband suffered from depression for years and was feeling great. He decided to go off his medication, but the two weeks following that he was worse than he had ever been.

McLelland said she and her husband went to Mount Sinai hospital earlier this month to seek treatment. She said he told the doctors there he didn’t want to live anymore. McLelland said the medical team referred him to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)’s emergency services and even offered to send him there in a taxi.

At CAMH, she said Peevers had a private examination with a doctor. Although McLelland said she doesn’t know what he told them, she believes her husband downplayed his symptoms. McLelland said they found the facility had an unpleasant atmosphere and Peevers’ mother had difficult experiences at the hospital in the past. She also said the doctor had an accent that was difficult to understand. McLelland said her husband was scared he would have to stay there and ultimately they left CAMH.

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On June 16, she called Toronto’s Distress Centres twice since Peevers wasn’t getting better. McLelland said she believed she was on hold between 10 to 20 minutes. She said a message being played while on hold said the organization is ‘experiencing a higher than normal wait time’ and that they were in the queue.

On Saturday, he asked her to take him to the emergency department of St. Michael’s Hospital.

“I told them I have never seen him this bad,” McClelland said, adding she clearly told the medical staff he was suicidal.

“He said, ‘I haven’t gone out and bought rope but I’m thinking about killing myself.’”

She said the couple were told there were no beds. Peevers had a follow-up appointment with his regular specialist at CAMH on Monday. But McClelland said she told the emergency doctor he needed help now.

“He told them he couldn’t survive two days,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "He told them he couldn't survive two days," she said.

Peevers was ultimately given a list of phone numbers to distress centres in Toronto and a prescription for an anti-depressant, McClelland said.

Ever since Monday, McClelland and Peevers’ sister, Mary Galipeau, have been by his bedside. He faces life-threatening injuries. Peevers has since had two heart surgeries and had his foot amputated.

“Now he’s getting all the help he needs at an astronomical cost to the hospital … but they failed him,” Galipeau said, adding the same system tells people in crisis to go for help.

“The health system is just pretending or they are not getting the message out to themselves — that somebody who says they clearly want to commit suicide may do exactly what they say they are going to do and my brother did it two days later.”

She described her brother as “robust” and “gregarious,” but said Peevers knew he was depressed.

“He was suicidal and he knew it. I want to know the answer to the question, ‘What else could he have done?’” Galipeau said.

Global News contacted St. Michael’s Hospital to ask about Peevers’ initial visit to the emergency room. Through a written statement, a spokesperson said they don’t comment on specific cases.

“When it comes to any diagnosis of a patient and the treatment plan a doctor might recommend, it is based on that individual’s needs at that time,” Leslie Shepherd wrote.

“When a person comes to our emergency department experiencing a psychiatric emergency he or she may receive a range of services including a mental health assessment, a suicide risk assessment, medication, referrals to other treatment providers and other treatment options or consultation.”

Alison Caird, executive director of Toronto’s Distress Centres, said it’s up to the attending physicians to make decisions about admissions.

“The most important thing is to not give up. If you truly, truly believe they need care and they are turned away, go to another hospital,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The most important thing is to not give up. If you truly, truly believe they need care and they are turned away, go to another hospital," she said.

With respect to McClelland’s statement about a delay in speaking with someone over the phone, Toronto’s Distress Centres said high call volumes may result in hold times.

Caird encouraged those who call to remain on the line as all calls will be answered. She said the  Distress Centres can be reached at 416-408-4357 or at dcontario.org.

— With files from Nick Westoll