Death of patient probed as critical incident

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This article was published 17/06/2021 (1036 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The death of a 31-year-old mother who was expected to be flown out of province for COVID treatment last month is being investigated as a critical incident.

Krystal Mousseau of Ebb and Flow First Nation died after an attempted transport to an Ontario hospital because Manitoba’s intensive care units were overwhelmed.

The mother of two destabilized before the flight took off and was returned to the Brandon hospital. She died the next day, May 25.

Two reviews of the case are being conducted, a Shared Health spokesperson confirmed. A health department critical incident investigation is ongoing with the Prairie Mountain regional health authority and Shared Health, and the contracted flight company is doing its own internal review.

“Critical incidents are not reported to lay blame on individuals, but rather look at what can be done differently and what improvements can be made. To encourage reporting and open participation of health-care providers, aspects of the investigation process are kept confidential and privileged. This approach, in place in Manitoba since 2006, is intended to support health-care providers and encourage them to speak frankly and openly about what occurred,” the spokesperson wrote.

“A separate internal review of the case by the involved contracted flight company will also be conducted. Shared Health will remain involved in this review as the provincial entity responsible for Emergency Response Services, including contracted services.”

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said Friday it is supporting Mousseau’s family and will closely follow the review process to see what impact privatizing air ambulance services and other health policy decisions had in this case.

In a statement, Grand Chief Arlen Dumas said it’s important First Nations’ concerns are reflected in the investigation.

“Along with the family, the (association) will also be seeking answers to many questions, including determining the impact of contracted air transport on First Nations patients during the pandemic, and to seek to understand and confirm the underlying factors that led to COVID-19 patients being airlifted to other provinces for critical care treatment,” Dumas stated.

“Manitobans can clearly see the impacts of the health policy decisions of the province to balance their books by cutting critical-care beds during a pandemic, the policy decisions that disrespect nurses and that leave them without a contract for more than four years, and the policy decisions that brought Manitoba infamy as the worst jurisdiction in North America for COVID-19 infection rates at this point in the pandemic.”

Fifty-seven Manitobans have been transported out of province for intensive-care COVID-19 treatment during the pandemic’s third wave and seven have died while being treated out of province. The unprecedented decision to airlift patients to hospitals in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta was made while ICUs in Winnipeg and Brandon were well over capacity and lacked staff to open more beds.

On Friday, 20 Manitoba patients were being treated out of province (one in Alberta and 19 in Ontario.)

ICU admissions have peaked and are declining, but are expected to remain high and to drop more slowly compared with the drop in daily case counts, deputy chief provincial public health officer Dr. Jazz Atwal said Friday. He said about 25 per cent of ICU patients are long-term, meaning they remain there for more than two weeks.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca