Recent media coverage on critical incidents involving two patients in Manitoba is raising questions about the standard of care provided to patients in hospitals. In 2008 Jacqueline Johnson’s bowel was perforated during surgery at Seven Oaks Hospital in Winnipeg. In 2011 Kim Bernshine’s bowel was perforated during surgery at St. Boniface General Hospital in Winnipeg. In both of these cases the medical error was not immediately identified, the patient’s condition continued to deteriorate, further complications arose and life-saving surgery was required. Today Jacqueline and Kim each wear an ostomy bag to collect their body waste and will require future surgeries.
There are risks with any procedure but when a patient signs a consent form for surgery it is with the understanding that the doctors, nurses, and hospital are going to do everything possible to minimize those risks by providing a high standard of care.
What do you think about the standard of care in hospitals?
Hi Heather,
As you know, Madeleine my wife went into the hospital to have simple surgery on her bowel that was diseased with diverticulitis. She passed away when the surgeon perforated an ulcer. It’s over 10 years since she died on the 19th. of March 2003. It was a case of NEGLECTFUL CARE. You very kindly did a story about the case in June 2010.
Ed.
Hello Ed,
Our current system treats patients as numbers. Madeleine was not a number, she was a person. Thank you for sharing her story. I carry your wise words with me “Everything is blamed on the system like it’s some inanimate object, but systems don’t run themselves. Every system has a human component.” Madeleine’s story serves as a special reminder. Ed, you’re a true patient safety advocate – THANK YOU!
You can read Ed’s story here:
https://thepatientfactor.com/canadian-health-care-stories/the-untimely-death-of-madeleine-mendoza-a-husbands-journey-from-medical-tragedy-to-patient-safety-part-i/
https://thepatientfactor.com/canadian-health-care-stories/the-untimely-death-of-madeleine-mendoza-a-husbands-journey-from-medical-tragedy-to-patient-safety-part-ii/