Patient dies in waiting room of N.B. emergency room, eyewitness speaks out

Officials have confirmed a patient died in the waiting room of the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton this week, after a Facebook post from a witness went viral.

John Staples, who was in the waiting room on Tuesday, described the scene as a “stark and somber realization that our healthcare system is so sadly broken.”

He detailed how he watched a patient fall asleep in a wheelchair.

“After more than an hour later (having watched 2 half-hour shows on the waiting room TV), an ER staff came out to check on the individual. When the ER staff member calmly rushed back to the ER area, I looked over at the individual and noticed no rise-and-fall of breathing,” he wrote in the post.

He said in the post the ER staff emerged and called a code blue – which alerts medical staff to emergencies like cardiac arrest — but it was too late.

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“I was there to see a fellow New Brunswicker pass away in a hospital waiting room,” he said.

Global News spoke to Staples, who confirmed what he witnessed.

Horizon Health Network says it is investigating, after the patient’s death,

“Horizon thoroughly reviews any unexpected deaths that occur in our facilities to determine what took place and whether further action is required,” said Horizon CEO Dr. John Dornan in an emailed statement.

“As it relates to this incident, we immediately started the review process. We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to this individual’s family and loved ones.