Critical incident review launched into death of man who waited in Winnipeg ER

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This article was published 08/01/2025 (443 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG – The Manitoba government says a review is being launched into the death of a man who waited eight hours in a Winnipeg emergency department, but it’s not clear how much of the review will be made public.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara says a critical incident review will look at what happened after the man was brought by ambulance to the Health Sciences Centre early Tuesday morning.

Hospital officials have said the middle-aged man was triaged as low-acuity, was checked on again, and his condition later deteriorated to the point where he could not be revived.

A critical incident review — a type of investigation that includes some confidentiality and that does not result in a full public report — is being launched.

Asagwara says the review’s findings will be shared and the government will enact any changes needed to prevent similar deaths.

The minister did not directly answer when asked whether the NDP government expects a more-public judicial inquest to be called by the province’s chief medical examiner.

“I’ve taken the step as minister to immediately ensure that this is treated as a critical incident. That work is underway,” Asagwara said.

“As the minister, I’m committed to making sure that Manitobans have clarity about what we learn from this critical incident.”

An inquest, which includes testimony in open court and ends with a public report by a judge, was called into the 2008 death of Brian Sinclair, a double amputee who died of a treatable bladder infection caused by a blocked catheter while waiting 34 hours in the same ER.

Although Sinclair spoke to a triage aide when he arrived, he was never formally entered into the hospital’s system.

The inquest found Sinclair, an Indigenous man, likely could have survived if his catheter had been changed and antibiotics had been administered. The inquest report offered 63 recommendations including better triage procedures, more hospital staff and the presence of Indigenous elders in some hospitals.

Asagwara did not say whether the man who died Tuesday was Indigenous.

“I’m not going to share any personal information at this time. I think it’s really important for us to recognize that this is somebody’s loved one. This is a Manitoban. This is a devastating and tragic loss.”

The NDP government, elected last October, made improving health care a key part of its campaign promises. The government has hired more health-care workers and is intent on doing more, Asagwara said.

The hospital’s chief operating officer, Dr. Shawn Young, said deaths similar to the one this week are rare but do happen. The last such case occurred in early 2023, he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 8, 2025