NSMoms Document Cases of Emergency Room Horrors

Friday, July 10

Unfortunately, families across Nova Scotia continue to report severe, systemic failures of care within provincial Emergency Departments; preventable tragedies resulting from delayed care and a refusal to engage caregivers. Physicians and all clinicians must be made aware of their legal obligations and professional standards rooted in common law. Physicians also require skills to work therapeutically with patients living with serious mental illness and their families in order to provide the best health outcomes. Typical failures at our ERs and Acute Care Units include general lack of communication with families, inappropriate discharge from the ER and lack of safety and discharge planning which leads to untreated illnesses and ongoing instability in the community. Patients continue to be discharged prematurely from inpatient care without case management or stable housing in their community. Caregivers must let their voice be heard so we can stop this shameful discrimination against those living with serious mental illness and their families.

One such horror story unfolded recently in an emergency department -- paramedics rolled Jeremiah Dixon into the emergency department on a gurney after he'd made multiple attempts to take his own life. Less than 12 hours later, he was discharged and sent by taxi to a local homeless shelter. “I was scared and shocked,” the 19-year-old said in an interview at his family home in Dartmouth, N.S. “I was still like dizzy and stuff, and they just sent me off with some snacks and a ride to the shelter. See - Full story cbc.ca

Such negligence in our hospitals is completely unacceptable and will no longer be tolerated. Those responsible will be held accountable.

NSMoms are providing a toolkit containing recommendations and example letters to help caregivers document ER negligence and lay out a clear paper trail should harm result to their loved ones and action become necessary. See some of the example letters - Complaint Letters