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WARNING: This story contains details about suicide and self-harm.
The parents of a patient who died at Health Sciences Centre are suing Shared Health, accusing it and several health-care staff members of contributing to incidents of self-harm that led to the death of their son.
Staff members at the Winnipeg hospital and the Crisis Response Centre, which is on the HSC campus, failed to exercise a reasonable standard of care in responding to a person experiencing a severe mental health crisis in May 2024, say court documents filed in an application for a publication ban on the identities of the parents and their son.
Anonymized copies of those documents, sent to media Wednesday by the law firm that represents the parents, say staff at the Crisis Response Centre failed to ensure harmful objects were secured and inaccessible, despite knowing the risks among patients at the mental health care facility.
A pair of sharp medical scissors were left unsecured on a desk, which their son used to inflict serious harm on himself, the court documents allege.
He was transferred to HSC for emergency surgery on a neck wound, after which a nurse removed one of his restraints, the documents say. Almost two hours later, a second nurse removed a second restraint.
In both cases, no doctor ordered the removal of restraints, and no reassessment was done, the documents allege.
The patient left the care area and died by suicide inside the hospital on May 12, the documents say.
The documents also name the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority, an RCMP officer and Canada’s attorney general as defendants.
They say the RCMP officer failed to arrange an involuntary psychiatric assessment of the person despite repeated pleas from the parents, with staff at the Selkirk Regional Health Centre also wrongly advising he could not be admitted to their facility because he was outside their regional health authority.
None of the claims in the filings have been tested in court.
The documents filed with the Court of King’s Bench seek to ban the disclosure of the parents’ names, their family members’ names and any other information that could identify them.
Parents diagnosed with PTSD
The application says granting a publication ban will preserve the dignity of the plaintiffs and the deceased while preventing the risk of more trauma.
The parents are not seeking an absolute ban on public reporting on the matter, but only that their identities are not disclosed, the documents said.
The parents “personally experienced and witnessed” most of the events surrounding their son’s death, and both have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and are undergoing treatment, the documents say.
The parents said in affidavits they’re anxious about recounting the incidents should they be required to do so in court. They would be more comfortable doing so if they’re assured their identities won’t be disclosed, the documents said.
The mental health professionals who are currently treating them also said in affidavits that not concealing their identities could interfere with ongoing treatment.
The motion asks that they and their son be identified in all further documents by pseudonyms, with documents filed in support of the motion being sealed.
If you or someone you know is struggling, here’s where to look for help: