A Swiss clinic that offers assisted suicide claims it has changed its policies after an Irish woman killed herself with their help without any of her family knowing.

Maureen Slough, a 58-year-old mother and retired civil servant from Cavan who had a history of mental illness, ended her own life at the Pegasos clinic in Switzerland in July. Pegasos will enable people to end their lives even if they are not ill in any way.

Her partner Mick Lynch and daughter Megan only found out when a WhatsApp message arrived afterwards from Pegasos.

She was then cremated, and the urn containing her ashes was posted home like an Amazon package.

In response to queries from the Irish Independent, the clinic said it has now changed its procedures for unaccompanied applicants.

It says it will no longer accept unaccompanied applicants with living family members unless they provide copies of their next of kin’s passport and allow representatives of the clinic to meet them in a video call.