FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 10, 2014
Toronto, ON: CARP released an open letter to ministers of health across the country calling for assurances that hospital patients will get home safely in reaction to the latest of an increasing number of cases in which patients are sent home in taxis unaccompanied and inappropriately dressed without any assurances that they would be received safely at home. [See letter below]
The latest, a Winnipeg senior died on his front walk after being discharged from the Grace Hospital emergency room.
“This is not the first time we’ve heard this story. Either there are no protocols for ensuring that patients are accompanied or otherwise get home safely, or the protocols are not followed. Either way, patients are left to fend for themselves. We’re hoping that the ministers of health have a better answer than that”, said Susan Eng, VP, Advocacy for CARP.
CARP is a national organization and we get calls from members and media across the country about these increasingly frequent incidents. Today, we are referring to the case in Winnipeg. Before the holidays, we were asked to comment on a case in Delta, B.C. Last week, we got an email from a Calgary resident, still upset about a similar thing happening to his mother two years ago. And here in Toronto, a patient was sent to an empty house because he had moved to a retirement residence. In some cases, family members ready to help were not notified of the discharge; in other cases, the patient had no family close by. In each case, the hospital took no obvious steps to ensure that the patient would get home safely.
CARP is a national, non-partisan, non-profit organization committed to advocating for a New Vision of Aging for Canada, social change that will bring financial security, equitable access to health care and freedom from discrimination. CARP seeks to ensure that the marketplace serves the needs and expectations of our generation and provides value-added benefits, products and services to our members. Through our network of chapters across Canada, CARP is dedicated to building a sense of community and shared values among our members in support of CARP’s mission.
For further information, please contact:
Sarah Park 416.607.2471
Media Relations, Policy Researcher and Coordinator
[email protected]
Michael Nicin 416.607.2479
Director of Policy
[email protected]
Siobhan MacLean 416.607.2475
Media and Communications Coordinator
[email protected]
LETTER TO MINISTERS OF HEALTH
January 10, 2014
Dear Minister of Health
You will no doubt be aware that yet another tragedy has been reported about patients discharged from hospital and sent home in a taxi without ensuring that they will be safely received at home. Several cases have ended in serious injury or death. We are writing to ask you for your assurances that there are protocols in place to prevent any further such tragedies.
CARP is a national organization and we get calls from members and media across the country about these increasingly frequent incidents. Today, we are referring to the case in Winnipeg. Before the holidays, we were asked to comment on a case in Delta, B.C. Last week, we got an email from a Calgary resident, still upset about a similar thing happening to his mother two years ago. And here in Toronto, a patient was sent to an empty house because he had moved to a retirement residence. In some cases, family members ready to help were not notified of the discharge; in other cases, the patient had no family close by. In each case, the hospital took no obvious steps to ensure that the patient would get home safely.
Of the recent incidents that we have covered, we have yet to hear from the hospitals involved, any acceptance of responsibility nor any commitment to changes in discharge protocol. There has been no comment from any non-hospital agency either.
What assurances can you provide to Canadians in your province that you have in place the protocols, resources and enforcement mechanisms necessary to prevent such tragedies in the future?
CARP is a national, non-profit, non-partisan organization advocating for social change that will improve our quality of life as we age. We have 300,000 members across the country and 57 local chapters.
Sincerely,
Susan Eng, VP Advocacy
