Triaged patient dies while awaiting treatment inside Red Deer emergency room
A person died Sunday while waiting for a bed inside the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre, a spokesperson with Alberta Health Services confirmed Tuesday.
"The patient had been triaged, and later reassessed by emergency department staff, and was waiting for further care in an emergency department space," Kerry Williamson told CTV News Edmonton.
"Our thoughts are with this patient’s family, friends and loved ones."
Williamson did not provide a gender or age of the patient and he did not say exactly where the patient died inside the hospital.
No cause of death was provided but Williamson said the Medical Examiner had been notified.
"We acknowledge that wait-times at RDRHC were long at certain times over the weekend due to a surge in demand, and an increase in very sick patients. We do not know if this incident was the result of wait-times in the Red Deer emergency department," Williamson said.
He added that the ER was "fully staffed," and an investigation is underway.
'THIS IS GOING TO BE A CHALLENGING TIME'
"We are available to discuss any questions the family may have. Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time. Our thoughts are also with our emergency department physicians and staff, and we will continue to provide all available support to the individuals and the site," Williamson said.
Health Minister Jason Copping was asked about the death during a COVID-19 briefing Tuesday afternoon, but he said he didn't have many details.
"I'm taking this matter very seriously, I've asked AHS for a report and they're looking into it," Copping said.
The minister acknowledged that there is an "infrastructure deficit" in healthcare in central Alberta, but said he couldn't provide any new information on work being done to address that.
Copping claimed AHS is doing all it can to staff facilities across the province, including creating Pandemic Response Units in Edmonton and Calgary.
"We're bringing on board numbers of nursing students, we've hired over the last two years hundreds of nurses into the system. We recognize this is going to be a challenging time, but we're going to continue to focus to provide the best care for Alberta patients," Copping said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.