Critically ill patient had to wait in hospital corridor for 20 hours; Winnipeg protests

 

 

A critically ill cancer patient in Winnipeg has been reported to have waited on a stretcher in a hospital corridor for 20 hours without receiving emergency treatment. Colleen Titanich, an elderly woman with cancer, had to wait for a long time at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg. Finally, her daughter called the health minister and protested, and the patient was transferred to the palliative care ward.

Colleen was taken to the hospital by ambulance last Tuesday due to neck pain and other health problems. However, officials said the emergency department was extremely crowded and that she would have to wait 21 to 24 hours to see a doctor. The situation was horrific, with intoxicated patients making noise and spitting at nurses in the corridors filled with patients, her daughter Teresa said.

The next morning, Teresa realized that her mother had not been examined by a doctor, so she called Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Azaguara and complained. Within minutes, the elderly woman was moved from the hallway and given a bed, and then transferred to Riverview Health Centre for specialist care. Teresa said that if she had not intervened, her mother would still be lying in that hallway and her life would have been in danger. Teresa called for the emergency department to be avoided for people seeking treatment for addiction and those with serious illnesses, and for special arrangements to be made to ensure emergency treatment for the elderly and children.

Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Azaguara expressed regret over the incident. The minister acknowledged that waiting times in hospital emergency departments are too long, and that steps are being taken to address staff shortages and expand the operations of primary health centres.