Family in shock: ‘We found out from a WhatsApp that my mother had died by assisted suicide'

Sunday World

a day ago

Swiss clinic criticised by family of Cavan woman (58) with history of mental illness after they were left in dark over her death plan
Or at least that is what her family have been told. None of them were with the 58-year-old as she slipped away at a clinic in Switzerland.
In fact, news of Ms Slough's death reached her daughter, Megan Royal, back in Dublin by WhatsApp. Ms Royal was horrified to be informed that her mother's ashes would be posted to her.
Now the family of the Cavan-based woman, who had a long history of mental illness and had tried to take her own life last year, want to know how somebody's life could be ended in such a manner.
Maureen Slough
Ms Slough travelled to the ­Pegasos clinic in Switzerland less than a month ago, on July 8, having told her family she was going to Lithuania with a friend. Her family became suspicious and contacted her. They say she promised to return.
But Ms Royal and Ms Slough's partner, Mick Lynch, would later receive a message from a volunteer for the ­Pegasos group to inform them of her death.
The family immediately set about trying to find out why they were not informed by the clinic in advance, and also questioned if Ms Slough's history of mental illness was assessed by the clinic first.
The Pegasos group has said in response to questions from family and friends of Ms Slough, that it received a letter from Ms Slough's daughter Megan saying she was aware of her mother's wishes and accepted them. It also says it verified the letter through an email response to Ms Royal using an email address supplied by Ms Slough.
Ms Royal has said she never wrote such a letter or verified any contact from Pegasos, and now her family think Ms Slough may have forged the 'letter' and verified it using an email address she created herself.
Maureen Slough with her daughter Megan
News in 90 Seconds - August 6th
Pegasos was asked further questions by the Irish Independent as to why it did not ring Ms Royal, and whether it sought a mental health history for Ms Slough before her death.
The Pegasos group responded that Ms Slough went through an extensive assessment process leading up to her death, including an independent psychiatric evaluation confirming she was of sound mind.
Her brother Philip, a UK solicitor, has now written to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the UK, asking it to investigate the matter with Swiss authorities.
In his letter, he said Pegasos did not rigorously follow its own policy to inform a family. He said while he understands Ms Slough represented to the clinic that this had been done by the letter purportedly written by Ms Royal, the clinic only sought ­confirmation through an email provided by Ms Slough.
'I am working on the assumption that my sister created this email and the clinic's procedures were woefully inadequate in verification,' he wrote.
'The Pegasos clinic has faced numerous criticisms in the UK for their practices with British nationals'
'It appears my sister provided ­Pegasos with letters of complaint to medical authorities in Éire in respect of bogus medical conditions, and that these documents were considered by Pegasos in support of her application.
'While I understand that Swiss law permits assisted dying, the Pegasos clinic has faced numerous criticisms in the UK for their practices with British nationals, and the circumstances in which my sister took her life are highly questionable.'
In March, the BBC ran a report saying the Pegasos clinic allegedly helped a Welsh woman named Anne (51) end her life in January without informing her family, despite promising to change its practices following a previous case.
It said that under similar circumstances, Alistair Hamilton (47) died in 2023, and the Pegasos clinic reportedly promised last year that it would always contact a person's family before carrying out an assisted death.
However, Anne, whose death was first reported by ITV News, allegedly died without her family being informed.
The BBC reported that Pegasos said it had attempted to phone and text Anne's brother John, but he insisted he had received no communication from the group. Dyfed-Powys Police in Wales told the BBC it is investigating her death.
The Pegasos building
Anne's family learnt of her intention to die only after goodbye letters ­posted to them from Switzerland arrived.
Ms Royal and Ms Slough's partner, Mr Lynch, received a similar card, handwritten by her mother, in recent weeks.
The grieving daughter said her mother had tried to take her own life last year following the deaths of two of her sisters, and was not in her right mind when she made her decision to go to Switzerland. Her latest granddaughter had been born just days earlier.
'They should not have allowed her to make that decision on her own. This group did not contact me, even though my mother had nominated me as next of kin. They waited until afterwards and then told me she had died listening to an Elvis Presley song,' Ms Royal said.
She added that her mother had a difficult upbringing, having been brought to Ireland by her own mother and a man she had met while in a mental ­hospital in the UK. She said that despite years of trauma, her mother made a good life for herself and joined the civil service, being promoted to executive officer before retiring last year.
Ms Royal said that her mother travelled alone to Switzerland and paid €15,000 to the Pegasos Swiss Association to facilitate her death two days later.
'I was actually talking to her that morning and she was full of life'
'She had told us she was going to Lithuania, but she had confided in two people that she had other plans, and ­after a series of concerned phone calls she said she would come home, but then we got the WhatsApp message to say she had died,' her daughter said.
Mr Lynch said: 'I was actually talking to her that morning and she was full of life. She said she was after having her ­breakfast and she was going out to sit in the sun. Maybe she was heading off to that place. I still thought she was coming home.'
The Pegasos group said Ms Slough went through an extensive assessment process ­leading up to her death, including an independent psychiatric evaluation confirming she was of sound mind.
It said she was consistently forthcoming about her background and history, and provided thorough medical documentation, including from her pain-management consultant.
It said she had stated repeatedly that she was in chronic pain that was unbearable to her, despite seeing the pain specialist.
Pegasos logo
Pegasos added that Ms Slough provided a letter from her daughter Megan, and in the letter she stated in writing that she confirmed she was fully informed regarding her mother's decision, and that she had been made fully aware of her intentions and the nature of the procedure she was seeking.
It said Megan stated that she had the opportunity to discuss this matter with her mother and understood the reasons behind the decision, and the implications of her choice.
Pegasos said Megan was contacted directly by email to confirm the authenticity of the letter, and that in the email, Megan confirmed that the letter was indeed hers, and that she was sorry she could not accompany her mother to Switzerland, and that she was not happy with her mother's decision but understood that she was in a great deal of pain.
The letter and email are disputed by Ms Royal and Ms Slough's family.
Friends of Ms Slough have been horrified by the manner of her death, and questioned everything about it, including the manner in which the Swiss group repatriates remains through the parcel post system.
'You get letters in the post, not ­people,' her friend Stephanie Daly said.
Ms Slough's ashes have now arrived with her family and funeral arrangements are being made.
If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, you can call Samaritans free on 116123 or email [e-mail]; or call Pieta on freephone 1800 247 247 or text HELP to 51444