Demands for answers, action after Moncton Hospital ER waiting room death

Friends of a man who died waiting for care inside the Moncton Hospital’s ER waiting room this past week held a demonstration Saturday outside the building, demanding answers and action.

"I knew him almost 15 to 20 years and I never saw him not smiling," said Abdul Khan, president of the Moncton Muslim Association, which helped organize the demonstration. "He was a very sweet guy, very friendly, a family person."

Khan said he’s only identifying the man by his initials M.S. to protect the privacy of his wife and five children.

Khan said M.S. was a former kidney transplant patient who had a medical procedure on Monday, with instructions to return to the hospital if he felt any back or chest pain.

Khan said M.S. arrived at the Moncton Hospital’s emergency department Tuesday evening around 10 p.m.

"He waited there until 3:30 a.m. [Wednesday] when he collapsed and died," said Khan. "He complained to the staff multiple times about his pain."

Khan said one of his biggest questions was why M.S. had to wait so long after already being identified as high risk patient requiring prompt care.

On Wednesday, the Horizon Health Network confirmed a patient arrived at the Moncton Hospital’s emergency department while it was in "a critical overcapacity state” on Tuesday.

Dr. Serge Melanson, the clinical lead with emergency services at Horizon Health, said the patient was triaged as a priority.

"While waiting to be assessed by the physician, the patient was being monitored by staff and had some early testing completed, however the patient’s condition quickly deteriorated," said Melanson, in a written statement.

Horizon said a review into the incident would be conducted.