Man Dies Waiting 34 Hrs at Emergency Room

(Winnipeg, Manitoba) It's unexcusable! A man waits 34 hours at a Winnipeg hospital emergency room and dies before he is seen. Not only that but he was dead for several hours before it was noticed that he had become a corpse progressing toward rigor mortis.

Although the 45-year-old man -- who CTV Winnipeg identified as a double amputee named Brian Sinclair -- was "a regular" at the emergency room, regional health officials say he was never registered or seen by triage nurses over the weekend until it was too late.

"The bottom line is we are not making an excuse for this," [Manitoba Premier] Doer said yesterday following a grilling over the incident in the legislature. "This is a tragic incident and it shouldn't have happened."

Sinclair was dropped off at the hospital by a taxi Friday afternoon after visiting a downtown health clinic, which is part of the regional health authority.

Some hospital staff did speak with the man at some point, but it was not until shortly after midnight on Sunday that he was examined and pronounced dead. The cause of death has not been released.

Although it's arguably unethical, immoral and illegal to deny emergency treatment to people out in society, denying treatment to someone at the emergency room, even by neglect or incompetence, must border on being a prosecutable offense.

Also: SocGlory