Regina hospital patient died while waiting for admission, paramedic logs reveal
Regina hospital patient died while waiting for admission, paramedic logs reveal
Paramedic logs from 2022 are highlighting some of the pressures Regina EMS workers have been facing for months including one instance where a patient died following offload delays at the hospital, the documents indicate.
An offload delay occurs when ambulance patients cannot be immediately transferred into a hospital bed and paramedics have to wait until the patient is admitted.
The documents were provided to CTV News from a source who filed a Freedom of Information request. They include daily logs written by paramedic supervisors from January to December 2022.
On Sept. 13, 2022, the log reads “coroner called looking for information from [offload delay] that went into cardiac arrest.”
In an emailed statement, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said it “cannot comment on specific cases or individuals due to privacy legislation.”
Paul Merriman, Saskatchewan’s minister of health, said the ministry works with the coroners service during investigations of this nature.
“I’m not familiar with this specific incident and I couldn’t comment on this specific incident that the coroner is looking into, but we always make sure that we work well with the coroner and the SHA and all of our affiliates to implement any recommendations that come out of that office,” Merriman said.
The format of the paramedic supervisor logs changed in October to include more details. Paramedics who spoke with CTV News highlighted some instances that were the most concerning for them.
On Oct. 22, notes indicate there were no units available to go to a Seroquel overdose.
Oct. 27 showed calls waiting for more than five hours, meaning some people who called 911 had to wait that long to receive help.
On Oct. 29, notes state a patient with chest pain was held for 50 minutes and there were no transport units for an overdose patient, but a bystander administered NARCAN. The supervisor notes go on to say “we [have to] be able to dig our medics out of the hospital when required in a reasonable amount of time. I feel like a broken record.”
Nov. 1 saw offload delays of 10-plus hours. On this day, notes indicate there were no units available to respond to a cardiac arrest. There was also a medic assaulted that day.
On Nov. 9, it took 28 minutes for an ambulance to be dispatched to a call for a high priority pediatric seizure. Offload delays reached 10-plus hours and help was brought in from Carlyle EMS.
“We take all concerns from patients and their family members very seriously,” the statement from the SHA said.
“Anyone who has concerns over their care experience is encouraged to contact our quality of care coordinators. Through this patient-centered service, we can work with the patient and their family members through a respectful and confidential process to find out how we can help.”
In January, the Alberta government released an overview of two reports looking into the province’s troubled EMS system. A number of recommendations were made as a result of the reports.
Saskatchewan’s health minister said the government and the SHA are transparent with the public, noting Freedom of Information requests are always an option.
“We do report out lots of data to the public on various things within our healthcare system and we’ll continue to do that. I’m not familiar with the Alberta report, but I’ll certainly have a look at and if it’s something that we could be implementing in Saskatchewan, I’ll definitely talk to my officials and see about a process,” Merriman said.
The NDP’s health care critic said there should be more transparency, specifically around deaths.
“I do have concerns that it’s happened more broadly than this one situation and that’s not okay,” Vicki Mowat, NDP MLA, said.
DROPPED AMBULANCES
According to the documents provided to CTV News, every day in November saw at least one ambulance dropped. On some days, there were four or five ambulances dropped.
In an interview with CTV News in November, the SHA’s south zone EMS director indicated that most days the ambulances are fully staffed. They are considered fully staffed with 11 ambulances during peak hours.
“Most days we are at 11,” director Glen Perchie said. “There are days when we are down a car, definitely.”
Paramedics who spoke with CTV News say ambulances are typically dropped because there aren’t enough employees working.
On Wednesday, the province announced 24.5 full-time equivalent paramedic positions in Regina. They will be implemented in the next three months.
The positions are expected to help staff two additional ambulances in the city, along with two smaller paramedic response units.
“This is the first step in being able to create some more efficiencies within our hospitals, certainly in Regina and in Saskatoon which have seen some pressures over the last few months,” Merriman said.
The NDP said any support is good news, but noted this is just the beginning until those positions are actually filled.
“We know that we need system wide reform but we also need to make sure that people are cared for when they’re in their most critical times. Part of that is making sure we have paramedics and ambulances on the road, and part of that is that the care is available when you get to the emergency rooms,” Mowat said.
The health minister said the province is hoping to fill the new positions with as many Saskatchewan students as possible.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
In an effort to keep the foreign interference story at the forefront, and to do an apparent end run around the Liberal filibuster blocking one study from going ahead, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is forcing MPs to debate and then vote on a motion instructing an opposition-dominated House committee to strike its own review.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted reactions from supporters, with even some of his most ardent loyalists dismissing the idea as a waste of time or a law enforcement trap.
Officials are still looking for victims after a fire ripped through a building in Old Montreal last week, killing at least one person. At a press conference Monday morning, spokespersons for the Montreal police and Montreal fire department said six people are still missing. They come from various locations in Quebec, Ontario and the U.S.
Bargain hunters are one step closer to seeing sales at Nordstrom's closing Canadian locations. At a hearing at Osgoode Hall in Toronto on Monday, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice gave the U.S. retailer's Canadian branch permission to start liquidating its merchandise.
Some of the world's largest central banks came together on Sunday to stop a banking crisis from spreading as Swiss authorities persuaded UBS Group AG to buy rival Credit Suisse Group AG in a historic deal.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
The Town of Strathmore and Siksika Nation hosted the first Lead By Example Powwow this weekend in honour of a young Indigenous man who was shot to death four years ago.
Autopsies confirmed gunshot wounds as the cause of death for two constables responding to a domestic dispute Thursday, the Edmonton Police Service says.
In a heated race to the playoffs, the Edmonton Oilers will try to bank some points against lesser competition when they host the San Jose Sharks on Monday.
Ontario employers who withhold foreign workers’ passports or work permits could face steeper penalties under new labour laws, with maximum fines setting them back up to $200,000.
Bargain hunters are one step closer to seeing sales at Nordstrom's closing Canadian locations. At a hearing at Osgoode Hall in Toronto on Monday, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice gave the U.S. retailer's Canadian branch permission to start liquidating its merchandise.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
Ontario employers who withhold foreign workers’ passports or work permits could face steeper penalties under new labour laws, with maximum fines setting them back up to $200,000.
A vehicle burst into flames in South Vancouver after an early morning collision Monday, prompting police to shut down the intersection at Kingsway and Tyne Street amid an investigation.
People who rely on transit to get around parts of the Fraser Valley are scrambling to find alternatives as workers with BC Transit walk the picket line.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
Officials are still looking for victims after a fire ripped through a building in Old Montreal last week, killing at least one person. At a press conference Monday morning, spokespersons for the Montreal police and Montreal fire department said six people are still missing. They come from various locations in Quebec, Ontario and the U.S.
Quebec provincial police (SQ) announced Monday morning that a third person has died in connection with the tragedy in Amqui, in the Lower St. Lawrence region, where a driver drove his pickup truck into pedestrians a week ago.
Mounties in Port McNeill violated a suspect's Charter rights by failing to allow him to contact a lawyer promptly after his 2019 drug trafficking arrest, a judge has ruled.
Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools announced it will take the proposed Nanaimo District Secondary School capacity scenario of sending Gabriola students entering Grade 8 in September to Cedar Secondary out of consideration.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
The University of Prince Edward Island Faculty Association says its staff has gone on strike after what it says are failed attempts to enter additional negotiations with the university's administration.
The student union president at Cape Breton University said food insecurity has become a concern for many students and the on-campus food bank cannot keep up with demand.
A 46-year-old man has been taken to hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries after a single-vehicle crash on MR80 near Donaldson Crescent in Val Caron.
A community is in mourning after a 10-year-old girl was killed earlier this week when flames tore through her family’s camping trailer southeast of Brantford.
Waterloo regional police say they arrested nine people for impaired driving over the course of nine hours between 6:30 p.m. on St. Patrick’s Day and 3:30 a.m. on March 18.
