Review underway after patient dies in St. Boniface Hospital emergency room

Another person in Winnipeg has died while waiting in a hospital emergency room.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority confirmed to Global News a patient died early Friday morning in the St. Boniface Hospital ER.

The WRHA says the patient had been in the ER for around five hours, had been triaged, and had undergone a number of diagnostic tests.

A review will now be completed to determine if the death meets the criteria of a critical incident.

Wait times at the St. Boniface Hospital ER Friday night were 13 hours, according to the WRHA website, the highest among all hospitals.

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On Wednesday, the WRHA announced a number of changes to free up capacity and staff, including the rescheduling of some inpatient elective orthopedic surgeries at Concordia and Grace Hospital.

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“Our sincerest condolences go out to the patient’s family and our thoughts are with them,” said Kerstin Jordan, WRHA regional lead of patient safety. “Events like this – and right now for the amazing team at St. Boniface ED – are heartbreaking.”

The St. Boniface death comes just months after a patient died while waiting in the Grace Hospital ER for more than 30 hours in November.

Last February, a patient died while waiting in a hallway at the Health Sciences Centre ER.

The province announced a move earlier Friday with a goal of shortening those wait times as they are beginning a four-week trial program to fund an additional physician at HSC’s minor treatment clinic.

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