Patient dies in waiting room of busy Edmundston hospital ER, Vitalité confirms
CBC
A man in his 70s died in the waiting room of the Edmundston Regional Hospital's emergency department Wednesday, when the ER had a "high level of traffic and long wait times," but the Vitalité Health Network does not believe there's any connection.
The patient was triaged, monitored and cared for according to established protocols, Dr. France Desrosiers, president and chief executive officer of the regional health authority, said in a statement Thursday.
His condition was deemed stable during triage.
"At this point in time, no cause-and-effect relationship between the level of traffic and the death has been established," said Desrosiers.
"A thorough analysis is underway to accurately determine what happened and to make any required improvements."
The release did not specify whether the patient died waiting for care, as was the case of the father of five who died two weeks ago at Horizon's Moncton Hospital, when the ER was in a "critical overcapacity state," and the patient, described by a witness as a senior in a wheelchair, who died in the waiting room of Horizon's Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital ER in Fredericton in July.
A Vitalité spokesperson confirmed to CBC News late Thursday afternoon the patient died in the waiting room, but did not say how long the patient had been waiting.
The hospital was also dealing with a "high occupancy rate" on Wednesday, according to the release.
The results of the review will be shared with the man's loved ones, said Desrosiers. She did not say if the results will be made public.
No other information about the patient or his condition during the ER visit will be released, she said, citing privacy.
The Edmundston Regional Hospital has seen a rise in emergency room deaths this year, compared to the previous three years, according to data released by the Department of Health.
The number of patients who died was not provided, only the rate of patients who died per 1,000 patient registrations.
The rate was 1.13 per 1,000, as of August. That's up from 0.94 for all of 2021, 0.38 in 2020, and the pre-pandemic rate of 0.53 in 2019.
Anyone who died upon arrival is excluded from these numbers.
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