'I'm scared she's going to die': Family concerned over non-COVID-19 emergency treatment at St. Boniface Hospital
A medical emergency that sent one Winnipeg woman to the St. Boniface Hospital has left her family with concerns after they said she has now spent three days alone waiting for surgery, with no end in sight.
Kimberley Hanson was rushed to the emergency room Monday morning around 8 a.m. by her husband after experiencing chest pains.
“I'm worried that my mom is alone, scared. Nobody's allowed to see her,” said Stephanie Reinheimer, Hanson’s daughter.
The situation was worrisome for the family as Hanson had a history of heart issues and was soon going for consultation on possible bypass surgery.
Reinheimer said she had an EKG when she first arrived at the hospital and blood work was drawn, but that was really all that was done before seeing a doctor about 12 hours later.
The news was not good. One of her arteries was fully closed, three others were 90 per cent closed and surgery was required.
Reinheimer said surgery was supposed to happen the following day, but on Tuesday she said the family was informed the doctor was not available, so the procedure would have to wait until Wednesday.
They are still waiting.
“And after speaking with my mother today, she still has not seen the doctor or anything,” said Reinheimer. “I'm scared she's going to die before the surgery would happen.”
An added concern is the lack of visitation rights despite family members being fully vaccinated.
“To have somebody have to go through a quadruple bypass by themselves, and nobody's giving updates when we try to call and figure this out, it’s stressing me, it's stressing my dad out and stressing my mom out even more,” Reinheimer said.
To alleviate some of those stresses for families, Reinheimer said improved communications between hospital staff and patient families could go a long way.
“I think that is something that people need to understand that, you know, loved ones are sitting at home stressing just as much as the person who's in the hospital and stressing,” Reinheimer said.
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) tells CTV News it cannot comment publicly on individual cases, but strongly encourages anyone with a concern or questions about their care to contact patient relations.
While Reinheimer understands COVID-19 has strained the health-care system, she said something should be done to avoid priority patients, like those with heart issues, having to spend 12 hours in a waiting room before seeing a doctor.
“This should not be happening to people, especially the elderly, that’s majorly what I want to put out there that, you know, things need to change in the health system badly, especially here in Manitoba.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Canada's favourite sport to watch is hockey, survey shows
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have already delivered a fever level of fan excitement in Canada.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.