It started in January: Lea McLean's husband suddenly began experiencing paranoia, hallucinations and memory gaps.

Cohen McLean visited the emergency department at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, B.C., on Feb. 2, asking to be admitted to the psychiatric ward. He was sent home with the advice to see his family doctor and a prescription for an unfamiliar medication.

He died by suicide on March 10, leaving behind his wife and their three children, aged six, three and 18 months.

Lea McLean says her husband fell through the cracks of a medical system in which mental health is not taken seriously enough.

"Our entire approach to mental health in our health care system needs to change," McLean told CBC Daybreak Kamloops host Shelley Joyce. "For men, especially, mental health is ignored."

"The doctor at [the] ER obviously did not take him seriously," McLean said of her husband's visit to the hospital.

"It took a lot for him to go to the hospital and ask to be admitted. He was terrified when he went there that night. He just cried the whole time. It was a lot for him to go there and to be turned away just made him feel like the problem wasn't real or invalidated."

Cohen McLean, a 43-year-old carpentry foreman, had previously had a drug addiction but had never been on any medication for it, and he had had no previous mental health issues.

Due to province-wide doctor shortages, it would be weeks before he could see his family physician, McLean said.

"There is no reason that a psychiatrist shouldn't have seen him and been following him as soon as he went to the hospital with those issues," she said.

"He should have immediately been referred to a psychiatrist — normal people don't hallucinate."

Cohen McLean visited the emergency department at Royal Inland Hospital, asking to be admitted to the psychiatric unit because of hallucinations and paranoia. He was sent home and told to make an appointment with his family doctor. (Submitted by Lea McLean)

Multiple options for getting referrals

According to McLean, her husband was told visiting his general practitioner was the only option for him to get the referral he needed.

But Dr. Michael Weitzner, area medical director and a psychiatrist at Royal Inland Hospital, said patients can get a referral for psychiatric care from a family doctor, a nurse practitioner or another specialist. People experiencing mental health issues can also visit the Kamloops Mental Health & Substance Use clinic to get a referral, he said.

Weitzner said if an emergency room doctor believes a patient really needs to be admitted to the psychiatric unit, that is what happens.

In this case, from what Weitzner understands, the doctor didn't think the patient needed to be admitted.

"As far as the psychiatry group is concerned, we're happy to see patients who come in," said Weitzner who added that patients need to advocate strongly for themselves when they visit the emergency room, their family doctor or the mental health clinic.