Implementing Sinclair inquest recommendations could take years: province

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/03/2015 (3887 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Provincial health officials have set out a timetable for implementing dozens of recommendations from the Brian Sinclair inquest report.

However, the conclusion of the implementation team is that it could take years for many of the 63 recommendations to be realized in all hospital emergency rooms.

Health Minister Sharon Blady said today the action is being taken to prevent future tragedies.

“Each ER is unique,” Blady said. “Its community is unique. I want to make sure that we are doing the right thing for each area of the province, for each ER.”

The implementation team is chaired by Karen Herd, deputy minister of Manitoba Health, Healthy Living and Seniors. Members of the team include senior staff from regional health authorities, provincial health service organizations and the health department.

The team is developing a plan that ensures the orderly implementation of the Sinclair inquest recommendations in the short-term (within the next nine months), the mid-term (within 10 to 24 months) and the long-term (longer than 24 months).

All recommendations will be adopted consistently across the province.

“This is about systematic change and that can’t happen overnight,” Blady said. “It has to be built on a strong foundation.”

Brian Sinclair was 45 when he died waiting for treatment in the emergency room at Health Sciences Centre. He had waited in his wheelchair for 34 hours. The 200-page inquest report was released in December.

At the time, Judge Tim Preston said Sinclair “did not have to die.”

Blady said a number of measures have already taken place, particularly at the HSC, to avoid a similar situation as Sinclair’s death.

Those changes were discussed a length during the inquest.

“I want every Manitoban to have the highest quality health care,” Blady said. “This is why each and every recommendation matters. They matter to each and every Manitoban so that this doesn’t happened again.”