A Fredericton man who spoke out after seeing a patient die while waiting for treatment at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital’s emergency department says the response has been overwhelming.
John Staples, a residential support worker, witnessed the incident in the early-morning hours on July 12 as he waited with a client at the hospital.
He posted the details on social media and spoke to CTV Atlantic, saying the man was waiting in a wheelchair to be seen, and was clearly in pain, but then “seemingly fell asleep.”
“An ER attendant came out, and checked people, and checked this individual. I’ve done this line of work for 20 years, so, when the ER attendant rushed back, very professionally, as not to raise any alarms, I did look at the individual,” he said in an interview last Wednesday.
“I noticed there was no signs of breathing. No rise or fall of the chest or abdomen. I thought, ‘They’re gone.’”
A week later, Staples says he’s received many messages from members of the public, health-care workers, and even some in government, who have applauded him for speaking out.
On Friday, Premier Blaine Higgs announced he was removing Health Minister Dorothy Shephard and Horizon Health CEO Dr. John Dornan from their roles.
Higgs also revoked the elected boards of both the Horizon and Vitalite Health Networks, replacing them with appointed trustees.
But Staples isn’t sure if the changes will help.
“I can only offer opinion on this, and, as you know, depending on who you talk to, there are many,” he said. “I feel that the immediate action in the reassignment of the minister and firing the CEO was a means to appease the potential outcry by New Brunswickers.”
Staples says he’s still hopeful change on the ground will happen, but it “remains to be seen.”
“Access to health care is the problem -- wait times, getting family doctors -- so it will be interesting to see what is done in the hopefully not-so-distant future to remedy this problem,” he said.
On Tuesday, the province’s new health minister, Bruce Fitch, wouldn’t say if he’s learned any more details on what happened that evening, citing confidentiality.
“My sympathy goes out to the families. I can’t get into the details because of confidentiality, but again, that was a tragic event,” he said.
