Baby joy for Pollok family fighting for justice after River Clyde tragedy

For almost a year, Sean Doherty’s family have been demanding answers after he took his own life the day after pleading with doctors at a Glasgow hospital for help.

Sean, 37, was deemed “very low risk” for self-harming by accident and emergency staff at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and discharged on June 5 last year.

Five days earlier, his mum Margaret had taken him to the same unit, concerned about his mental state, and says she pleaded with doctors not to send him home.

He was discharged with tranquillisers, but less than a week later his body was recovered from the River Clyde.

READ MORE: Glasgow mum's anguish as son takes own life after help plea

His family say he had been battling depression since the death of his father, also called Sean, who passed away the year before from cancer.

“It’s still horrendous to this day,” explains his sister Julie, as she continues to battle with grief.

“It’s hard not knowing why he did it, we never thought he would have done something like that - so we’re all trying to get our head around this.”

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde launched an investigation following Sean’s death – but so far the family say they’ve not had any updates.

But amid the tragedy of Sean’s death came a glimmer of hope.

Two weeks after laying her brother to rest, Julie fell pregnant.

“I was terrified. I was still grieving. I was grieving throughout the whole pregnancy, it was a mixture of emotions,” she said.

Julie added; “But then I started to think that he must have been sent for a reason.

“I believe my dad and Sean sent him to help us through our grieving.

“While I was pregnant it gave us something to look forward to and a reason to stay positive.”

The mum-of-six, who turned 41 on Wednesday, added: “And when Sean actually did arrive it’s been a big help, everyone just has a bit of joy around us.

“Obviously it’s still sad that Sean isn’t here but that’s what we have to deal with.”

Julie gave birth to her baby – her sixth boy – on March 3 and said there was “no other name” to give him than Sean.

And she believes the late “Uncle Sean” would have been proud to have welcomed the newest member of the family.

She explained: “Sean loved all the boys, he took them golfing and fishing.

“He never had kids so was always great at helping out with them – he was brilliant.”

But while things are looking up for Julie and her family, a level of anger and disappointment surrounding her brother’s death remains.

She believes Sean was acting strange in the moments before taking his own life and wants to know why no-one bothered to intervene.

She also praised the introduction of six new emergency lifeline telephones on the banks of the Clyde – which provide a direct link to 999 services and the Samaritans.

Julie added: “Apparently Sean was there for a while and I heard he was acting strange – so I’m angry people didn’t go and speak to him and try to help – or call the police.

“It was a busy time of night and people will have seen Sean acting strange but they didn’t do anything.

“That’s why I’m really thankful these emergency lifeline telephones have been put in now – it means people can phone police immediately or even Samaritans if they need to.

“It’s a great sign post during difficult times.”

And, almost a year on from his death, Julie says it is “disappointing” that she has not yet had answers over Sean’s death.

She said: “We went to Sean’s lawyer to write to ask why – why was Sean discharged, why was he deemed low risk? But we never got anything back.

“It’s disappointing. I phone the lawyer at least once a month to check for updates but there’s never anything new.

“We’ve never heard anything.”

A spokeswoman for NHS GGC said:" Our sympathies remain with the family. We ask that the family to contact our Complaints Department who would be happy to arrange a meeting with them to answer their questions."

The Samaritans, free helpline is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year on 116 123.