Family remember patient who died in Winnipeg emergency room

The sister of a man who died waiting for care in the emergency department of Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre (HSC) is remembering her late brother as an intelligent person with a bold personality.

“He was great with electronic work. If somebody couldn’t figure wiring out for something, he could do it, and he was like that ever since he was about 10 years old,” Ronalee Reynolds told CTV News on Saturday. “In my opinion, he was a genius.”

Chad Giffin was taken to HSC by ambulance shortly after midnight Tuesday. Reynolds was told he was found out in the cold downtown prior to his hospital trip.

According to Shared Health, the 49-year-old was assessed as a low-acuity patient, triaged, and told to let hospital staff know if his condition changed.

Giffin was reassessed in the waiting room, but at around 8 a.m., his condition had significantly worsened. Hospital staff took him into a room for resuscitation, but Giffin died.

On Tuesday afternoon, HSC’s chief operating officer Dr. Shawn Young said there were approximately 100 patients in the emergency department that night – and roughly 50 people were in the waiting room.

Giffin’s death has been deemed a critical incident and an investigation has been launched to examine the circumstances surrounding his death and how future incidents can be prevented.

“We go to a hospital seeking help, but that doesn’t mean they can’t help sometime,” Reynold said. “I trust doctors and if he was deemed low acuity, then that’s what he was. Whatever happened in between triage and time of death – I haven’t got a clue. We’ll wait for any results from the autopsy.”

Reynolds said she initially learned of Giffin’s death on Wednesday, but health officials didn’t confirm until Friday. She expressed disappointment it took several days before the family was contacted and believes policies on notifying next-of-kin need to be updated.

However, she said Dr. Young called her directly and answered some questions regarding her brother’s death including why his condition was critical enough to take an ambulance, but deemed low-acuity in the waiting room.

“They’ve been so respectful and so helpful,” Reynold said of Shared Health officials. “I feel confident that communication going forward is going to be one of the top priorities in our situation.”

Reynolds said Giffin grew up in Portage la Prairie and spent most of his time living in Manitoba.

She said he struggled with his mental health and battled drug addiction throughout his adult life. She wasn’t sure if he was homeless prior to his death.

“It went downhill pretty quickly. We tried getting him help and every once in a while he would get cleaned up, but it didn’t last.”

She said Giffin estranged himself from the family about a decade ago stemming from drug-related issues.

“We often wondered where he was, what he was doing, and if he was okay,” she said.

Reynold said now, following Giffin’s death, she and her mother are remembering happier times like road trips during summer vacations.

“We don’t have to wonder anymore. We have those answers and now we can go back and remember. It’s really nice… we’re at peace.”

 – With files from CTV’s Charles Lefebvre