Person posing as health-care worker worked several shifts at Winnipeg hospital
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is advising the public that an unauthorized person posing as a health-care worker worked several shifts at St. Boniface Hospital earlier this month.
The WRHA noted the person worked shifts as an uncertified health-care aide (UHCA) between July 2 and 17.
The health authority and St. Boniface Hospital are investigating how this happened and have confirmed the person registered for, but didn’t complete, the UHCA program offered through the Shared Health Provincial Recruitment and Redevelopment Team. This is a seven-day training course and teaches skills to UHCAs, who are then sent to sites across the province;
"The person started, but didn’t complete this course, and was not eligible to be deployed to any site," the WRHA said.
The person called the St. Boniface Hospital staffing office and presented themselves as a newly hired UHCA, with knowledge of the training and hiring process. The WRHA said there was a gap in the confirmation of the person’s employment status, which allowed them to be scheduled for a shift at the hospital. Immediately after this shift, they were told they were not eligible to work.
The individual continued to present to St. Boniface Hospital in person and bypassed the staffing office, according to the WRHA. they said noted this person had a vast knowledge of the hospital, its units and managers, and using this knowledge, was able to present themselves at screening and security as an employee and was admitted on several occasions.
The person worked as many as eight shifts, including in the emergency department. They performed tasks such as retrieving supplies, and directing and bringing patients to rooms. They did not have access to controlled medications and they were also in the vicinity of professional health-care staff at all times;
During one shift, staff members identified this person, who was then barred from the hospital, and police were notified. Officers have spoken to this person and determined no ill will was intended. No further action is anticipated.
The WRHA noted this incident is “highly unusual and isolated,” but still troubling.
St. Boniface Hospital has made sure all employees are aware of the situation, emphasizing that staff IDs always need to be visible and presented when they enter the facility.
The WRHA is making sure all health-care sites in Winnipeg know about this incident and the requirements related to staff identification. The health authority reminds staff and patients that they have the right to ask to see the formal identification of a health-care worker.
The WRHA is also working with St. Boniface Hospital to finish the investigation and identify the gaps in policy, process, and practice. Corrective measures have been and will continue to be put in place.
St. Boniface Hospital “deeply regrets” the situation and apologizes to patients and staff. Anyone with concerns can contact the hospital’s patient relations office at 204-237-2306.
The province said Health Minister Heather Stefanson has been made aware of what happened.
“Minister Stefanson was informed of the highly unusual and isolated incident at St. Boniface hospital and was assured by the WRHA that security measures were implemented to prevent incidents like this in the future,” a government spokesperson told CTV News
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.