Abbotsford hospital’s care in question after death
Son says 56-year-old was given morphine and discharged after a five-hour wait
The family of a 56-year-old woman who died at home hours after being discharged from an Abbotsford hospital emergency room is asking whether her death could have been prevented with better care.
Andrew Grimeau said his adoptive mother Mary Louise Murphy went to Abbotsford Regional Hospital on Feb. 1 because she felt severe pains throughout her body and was sweating profusely. After waiting about five hours to see an ER doctor, the doctor looked Murphy over and judged that her symptoms were muscle spasms, according to Grimeau. She was given a shot of morphine and discharged, he said.
“No tests taken, no blood work, just your typical, they test the blood pressure when you first come into the hospital,” Grimeau said. “Once she had spoken to the doctor, they didn’t feel any need to look any deeper.”
Grimeau said he visited Murphy as she struggled with pain in her apartment the night of Feb. 1, after being discharged. She died the following day, he said.
“I came and saw her, and she couldn’t even sit up,” Grimeau said. “She was in a bed rest rolling from back, and side to side, trying to find comfort and get some peace.”
Grimeau said he learned of Murphy’s death several days later when he talked with her boyfriend, who attended the ER with her.
Grimeau said he believes hospital staff were well aware of problems in the Abbotsford Regional Hospital ER before Murphy’s death.
He said he and his girlfriend attended the Abbotsford hospital maternity ward within the past month, and he complained that services seemed to be delayed.
“The doctor told me, ‘You are lucky you are not in the ER,’” Grimeau recalled. “Now I’ll always have it with me, that the doctors in the hospital know something is going on, that their ER doesn’t pay the right attention to patients.”
Murphy’s aunt, Donna Rotter, said she has been in contact with the Coroners Service of B.C. Rotter said the coroner told her there is no conclusive evidence of Murphy’s cause of death, but there were suggestions of heart problems. She said the coroner confirmed records show Murphy was given a shot of morphine in the hospital and that they must conduct further lab tests to determine a cause of death. That will take at least six months.
“It’s horrible to wait that long,” Rotter said.
She said she last saw Murphy several months ago, and “she seemed pretty healthy.”
“I just want to find out why she died and whether they could have prevented her death. Could they have taken better care of her, and looked into her symptoms better at the hospital?” Rotter asked. “Because they didn’t really seem to spend much time with her, and after waiting so long, maybe her pain and anxiety increased.”
Fraser Health Authority spokeswoman Tasleem Juma said the health authority is investigating Murphy’s death.
“Since this was brought to our attention, we have reached out to the woman’s relatives to better understand their concerns,” Juma said. “We will look at this person’s chart and we will be working with the coroner’s office to see what additional information they can provide.”
ER waiting times, treatment decisions and diagnoses are already being questioned at Abbotsford Regional Hospital after the death of three-year-old Nimrat Gill.
Nimrat died on the morning of Feb. 7, during her second visit to Abbotsford Regional Hospital in as many days. Gill’s family suspects she died of pneumonia that went undetected during back-toback hospital visits.
Nimrat’s parents said she first attended the hospital with cold symptoms and the family was told she would be OK and to give her Tylenol Cold to help with the symptoms. She returned with more serious symptoms, and after waiting for two hours to see an ER doctor, tests were done.
Nimrat’s condition worsened and she died in the hospital hours later. Fraser Health and the coroner are reviewing the circumstances of Gill’s death.