Tories say third patient death in weeks cries out for public inquiry

The opposition Progressive Conservatives say a public inquiry must be held following the death of a third patient — a six-month-old boy — in cases deemed critical incidents at Winnipeg hospitals in recent weeks.

“The only way to restore Manitobans’ confidence in emergency health care is a public inquiry,” said Tory health critic Kathleen Cook on Wednesday.

Dr. Patricia Birk, provincial specialty lead for pediatrics at Shared Health, offered condolences to the family of Luca Teng, who died Jan. 13 at the Children’s Hospital, during a Zoom media briefing Wednesday.

She said a critical incident investigation is underway and preliminary findings are expected to be shared with the family within 30 days while a final report will be released within 90 days.

Birk said she could not say whether proper protocols were followed.

“That is really the purpose of the critical incident, to determine what learning that we can obtain and really understand the facts about the case,” she said.

She added that Children’s Hospital’s emergency department was fully staffed with physicians and overstaffed with nurses on the day Luca died, and that triage protocols were followed when he arrived.

She said there was availability in the pediatric intensive care unit, something the family said it was told wasn’t the case.

Cook said a critical incident review isn’t good enough.

“Critical incident reviews are important. They have a role in the system, but there’s no accountability to the public for any recommendations that come out of those reviews, and any changes that are implemented to prevent these kinds of tragedies from happening again.”

She said Luca’s family deserves answers about their son’s care and Manitobans have a right to know what’s going on in emergency rooms.

In response, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said it’s inappropriate to play politics with people’s pain.

“We have a family that is in the depths of grief. They have lost their child, which is a devastating loss,” the minister said.

“We have a family that is in the depths of grief. They have lost their child, which is a devastating loss.”

“It’s also a traumatic loss for health-care workers who fought very, very hard to provide the best care possible to this little one and are also devastated over this loss.”

Asagwara said assumptions shouldn’t be made. They made it clear to the hospital they are willing to meet with Luca’s family to offer support.

“Every step of the way, this family will be fully informed and they will receive a full breakdown of the critical incident review and investigation, once it’s completed,” the minister said.

Lu Teng, the boy’s father, said the answers are slow in coming.

“I have a lot of questions I want to ask them,” Teng said. “I hope the medical system is going to be honest. I hope that if they made some mistakes or there was some malpractice, that they just let us know.”

Luca was born in July 2025 with esophageal atresia, a condition in which the esophagus and stomach are not properly connected. He successfully underwent complex surgery two days after birth.

On Jan. 12, Luca was at Children’s Hospital for a routine esophageal dilation — a procedure he had undergone seven times — to help him swallow. After the eighth dilation, Teng said the infant began choking.

They were discharged just after noon, but his condition worsened. He was rushed back to the hospital around 6 p.m., where an X-ray revealed air escaping through a hole in his esophagus. Teng said doctors told him the hole was likely caused by the procedure.

After hours of waiting, Luca was taken into emergency surgery around 4 a.m. He died three hours later.

“It’s also a traumatic loss for health-care workers who fought very, very hard to provide the best care possible to this little one and are also devastated over this loss.”

Teng said he met with hospital staff on Monday.

“We asked a lot of questions, for a lot of detail,” Teng said. “They told us they didn’t check the data, and that nobody reported the situation to them, so they don’t have any information to tell us. It’s been a month. I should get some answers.”

He said Luca’s death has been incredibly difficult for his family. His mom, who was at the hospital when her grandson died, doesn’t speak English and cries every day, not knowing what happened.

“We all want to know the truth,” he said.

In the past few weeks, two women, a 68-year-old and a 55-year-old, died after extended waits and missed diagnoses at St. Boniface Hospital.

“We are absolutely heartbroken more than we already were over this heartbreaking news,” said Chelsea Mann, whose 68-year-old mother, Judy Burns, died on Jan. 21, three days after she was admitted for rectal bleeding.

Her family said doctors repeatedly dismissed their concerns about her.

“This story absolutely hits close to home. Losing a loved one after seeking medical care is something no family should ever have to experience. My heart breaks for this family — especially knowing it was a six-month-old baby.”

Mann said families deserve to be heard when they raise concerns, and they deserve transparency when something goes wrong.

“It sounds like for Lucas, our mom Judy Burns, Stacey Ross, and sadly more, serious concerns were raised, and warning signs were there, and we were constantly dismissed,” she said.

Ross, 55, died on Jan. 16 after waiting 11 hours in the St. Boniface Hospital emergency room. The case is the subject of a critical incident review.

Mann, like Teng, said families rely on emergency rooms to be prepared, attentive and responsive.

“Are our emergency rooms adequately staffed? Are nurses and doctors fully supported and properly prepared to respond when seconds matter? Are protocols strong enough to ensure critical symptoms are not dismissed again?

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca