N.B. nurse double assigned over ‘limited resources’ on night of ER death, documents show
Global News
The details around an ER death in the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton suggest a LPN “couldn’t commit to the regular checks' that night because of resources.
New details are emerging about the death of a patient at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton last July, which are revealed through documents obtained by Global News.
At the time of the death, which occurred on July 12, 2022, emails from Horizon Health Network indicated the licensed practical nurse (LPN) assigned to the waiting area was also assigned to the department and “couldn’t commit to the regular checks.”
“They were doing the best they could with limited resources as usual, and checks on patients in the waiting room were being done by LPNs that had assignments in the Department, so they could not commit to regular checks like our waiting room LPN would do on days or evenings,” according to an internal email sent by Neil Gabriel to Margaret Melanson, Nathan Wickett and Jessica Cernivz, who all work within Horizon Health Network.
A submission by the New Brunswick Nurses Union to Horizon Health Network corroborated the circumstances the LPN experienced on the night in question.
The local union representative, who is not identified in the documents, said that the LPN assigned to the waiting room should not also be assigned to the department, and that 30-plus people “is too much for one person to take care of alone.”
During the quality process review, it was determined that “the lack of consistent patient monitoring and the inability to meet standards in the emergency department waiting room decreases the likelihood for early recognition in a patient health decline.”
Further emails revealed that since the Oromocto Hospital had reduced its hours, due to both nurse and doctor shortages, it was common for patients to be waiting up to two hours for a patient could be triaged.
The incident was described in emails between staff at Horizon Health Network as “truly unfortunate” and staff were “upset by the situation.”
