![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IUD4IWB2ERDHTHATBYIUGYXG3Y.jpeg\")
ER delays Sherri Ross (left) Morgan Ross (middle) and Debra Kofsky (right) hold a picture of Stacey Ross who died on Jan. 15. <\/p>\nThe family of Stacey Ross says long emergency room delays contributed to her death and is calling for changes to the health care system. <\/p>\n
A Winnipeg woman says her mother would still be alive today if she hadn\u2019t waited hours for care at a city emergency room, a case now under review by health officials as concerns mount over long hospital wait times across Canada.<\/p>\n
Jan. 15 was a day Morgan Ross will never forget. <\/p>\n
It was the day she lost her mom, Stacey. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe was more than a mom,\u201d she said. \u201cShe was my best friend.\u201d <\/p>\n
Ross said her mother, who was 55, had not been feeling well throughout the month of December. She had gone to the doctors on three separate occasions, but nothing came of it.<\/p>\n
ER delays Sherri Ross (left) Morgan Ross (middle) and Debra Kofsky (right) hold a picture of Stacey Ross who died on Jan. 15. <\/p>\n
On Jan. 4, Ross says her mother was experiencing severe chest pain and went to the emergency room at Winnipeg\u2019s St. Boniface Hospital. <\/p>\n
She says Stacey waited more than 12 hours before being told her sickness was a virus, and she was sent home. <\/p>\n
But Stacey\u2019s condition worsened, and she returned by ambulance to the same hospital on Jan. 15, waiting over 11 more hours before being admitted.<\/p>\n
\u201cAround 11 o\u2019clock at night, the hospital called my aunt, and they told us to come down because things weren\u2019t looking good,\u201d Ross said. <\/p>\n
A CT scan revealed pneumonia in Stacey\u2019s lungs. Shortly after, she went into cardiac arrest and died.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was horrible. I didn\u2019t believe it at first, but once they really talk about it more, I ran out of the room and just cried. I couldn\u2019t even breathe,\u201d Ross said. \u201cWe got to say our goodbyes, but it was really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ross said they are still waiting to hear back from the medical examiner about the cause of death, but she believes her mother would still be alive if she didn\u2019t have to wait so long to seek help. <\/p>\n
\u201cI believe I could still have a mother, a role-model in my life if she was seen sooner,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/NR4RVTALOFDDRJEJ7BAC46WFJQ.jpeg\")
ER delays A CT scan revealed pneumonia in Stacey\u2019s lungs. Shortly after, she went into cardiac arrest and died. Health authorities reviewing case<\/p>\n
A spokesperson with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, which oversees St. Boniface Hospital, said their patient safety team is \u201creviewing the circumstances surrounding this event to determine whether it meets the criteria for a critical incident.\u201d<\/p>\n
They aren\u2019t able to provide further details on the case due to patient privacy laws, but the spokesperson did say the health authority is addressing concerns, like patient flow as a top priority. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe provincial Lower Wait Times and System Improvement Team is working to improve how patients move through hospital care, including faster discharges from inpatient units, earlier clinical assessment through coordinated triage, and expanded care options outside of hospital so patients can recover safely at home,\u201d the statement reads. <\/p>\n
Manitoba\u2019s Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara also confirmed the case is being reviewed and that the patient relations team has been in contact with the family.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an incredibly difficult time, and my thoughts are with everyone affected,\u201d a satement said. \u201cWe will keep doing the work, alongside front-line staff, to build a stronger, more responsive health-care system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Family says the situation should never have happened<\/p>\n
Stacey\u2019s sister, Sherri Ross, says the situation should never have happened. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is ridiculous,\u201d she said. \u201cFor somebody to sit in the waiting room for 12 hours and then die two hours later after being seen is ridiculous. This is a 55-year-old woman who still should be here for her daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherri said it\u2019s important for people to advocate for themselves, especially when in a desperate situation. <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AAE75ULRPNG2JIL3TIBGT2HMHQ.jpg\")
ER delays Stacey Ross pictured with her sister Sherri Ross. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re sitting there for that long, you go up and you say, \u2018why am I waiting so long?\u2019 she said. \u201cTalk to them and make yourself heard.\u201d <\/p>\n
Stacey\u2019s best friend, Debra Kofsky, agrees. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really sad to watch somebody regress. She did everything right. That\u2019s the part where I would say to people is if you\u2019re in this situation, have somebody with you to advocate,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what more we could possibly do from our end as patients,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
A national problem<\/p>\n
The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) acknowledges that long hospital wait times remain a serious concern across the country. <\/p>\n
Dr. Margot Burnell, the CMA\u2019s president, said the problem is complex, involving both access to primary care and overall flow through the health system. She adds that the solution lies in letting emergency departments identify what works best locally. <\/p>\n
Long emergency room wait times reflect broader gaps in the health-care system, including difficulty accessing family doctors, primary care teams and after-hours care, leaving patients with few options before turning to the emergency department, Burnell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a flow problem through the whole health-care system,\u201d she said, adding that each part needs to be examined and improved to move patients through care more effectively.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The family of Stacey Ross says long emergency room delays contributed to her death and is calling for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":274154,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[10787,103,397,396,61,60],"class_list":["post-274153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-apple-news","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}