This Winnipeg family was told their loved one was dying, but it wasn't her in hospital

When Bianca Beauregard got a call last Friday that her sister was in a Winnipeg hospital following an overdose and wasn't expected to survive, she says she was hysterical. 

But hours later, after family members — including another of the woman's sisters and the woman's 12-year-old daughter — visited Health Sciences Centre to say goodbye, they discovered the woman on life support there wasn't their loved one. 

"My sister, she was saying goodbye and my family was in there doing a prayer, and she went to go hold my sister's hand and [the woman] had none of the same tattoos that my sister had," said Beauregard, who lives in Lethbridge, Alta. Beauregard said she received a number of calls from the hospital that day because she's her sister's next-of-kin.

She said her family then started showing hospital staff pictures to prove the patient wasn't who they thought it was. Beauregard was listening by phone as the situation unfolded, she said. 

"I could hear them in the background and they're like, they sounded panicked. HSC sounded panicked." 

Now Beauregard is questioning how this happened in the first place. 

A spokesperson for Shared Health said in an email they "regret that this error caused pain for both affected families."

The statement said when unconscious patients brought to the emergency department, the majority of their identities are confirmed before they're admitted through identification documents or through information gathered from other people before transport.

"That information is provided to hospital staff upon arrival and used to contact next-of-kin," the spokesperson said. "We can confirm that in this unfortunate instance, an incorrect patient name was provided to hospital staff." 

Shared Health said if a patient is unidentified when they arrive, staff will reach out to "external agencies" to help identify them.

Beauregard wants to see stricter protocols in place to ensure this doesn't happen to another family. 

"I want to see the hospital be held accountable for their actions," said Beauregard. 

She said her family had been told the woman arrived at the hospital at around 5 a.m., and that the person who called the ambulance identified the patient as her sister. 

"All they solely went off of was the person who called 911," said Beauregard.