NDP seeks inquiry into transfer death

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This article was published 17/03/2022 (1270 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE NDP has demanded a public inquiry into “systemic failures” that it says contributed to the death of a COVID-19 patient during a failed attempt to airlift her to Ontario.

The chief medical examiner has said no inquest will be held into the death of 31-year-old Krystal Mousseau, a mother of two from Ebb and Flow First Nation who died last year.

In question period Wednesday, NDP Leader Wab Kinew asked the premier to call a public inquiry.

“We need recommendations so the events that a led to Krystal’s death never happen again,” he said. Mousseau died following a failed attempt to airlift her from Brandon to a hospital in Ontario during the pandemic’s third wave when Manitoba’s ICUs were overwhelmed.

Kinew said a letter from Prairie Mountain Health to Mousseau’s family, which concerns a critical incident investigation, raises questions about the training and equipment of the staff involved in transporting her.

“While the premier was health minister, this government hired contractors to move ICU patients that didn’t have the right equipment and that used staff that didn’t have the right training,” he said.

Premier Heather Stefanson called on Kinew to publicly release the letter. “I’m simply asking him to help us all out, help the family out, by tabling this letter today.”

Kinew later said the premier would’ve seen the critical incident report when she was health minister.

Stefanson denied she had access to the letter.

Kinew said the critical incident letter contains personal health information and details of Mousseau’s death, as well as a legal disclaimer.

Manitoba introduced mandatory no-blame critical incident reporting in 2006 to look at what improvements can be made to health care. Some parts of the investigation process, including opinions, speculations and advice, are confidential and privileged under law.

In a March 1 letter to the NDP, the chief medical examiner said “there is no mystery” as to why Mousseau died.

Internal reviews were conducted after Mousseau’s death. In addition to the critical incident investigation, the contracted flight company did an internal investigation.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca