Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health has declined a request to conduct a formal, public investigation into Riverside Health Care’s La Verendrye Hospital following the death of Hermina Fletcher, citing multiple procedural upgrades at the facility, and existing investigations into the matter.
Lawyer Douglas Judson of Judson Howie is representing Hermina’s son and granddaughter, Melvin and Melissa Fletcher, in a civil lawsuit against Lindsey Coyle, who was sentenced to a two-year jail term last week, after pleading guilty to Criminal Negligence Causing Death.
On Aug. 29, 2023 the family wrote to the ministry requesting a formal investigation under Section 8 of the Public Hospitals Act.
In a statement issued after the sentencing, Judson says his clients still have questions about Hermina’s death.
“Our clients have now repeatedly called for improved clarity around the circumstances surrounding Hermina’s death, and specifically the extent of Ms. Coyle’s professional misconduct. As we have pointed out since August 2022, this criminal proceeding has pointed to the possibility that there were other victims targeted over a longer period of time than Hermina’s hospitalization,” the statement reads.
On Jan. 10, 2024, the Health Minister replied in-part:
“In response to this request, the Ministry of Health (the “ministry”) has been working with Ontario Health to assess the actions undertaken by Riverside Health Care to improve patient safety at the La Verendrye Hospital site, and to determine if the appointment of an Investigator is required. Ontario Health has reported that a full audit and investigation requested by the Coroner’s Office was completed into this critical event. Additionally, La Verendrye Hospital conducted a review and update of medication related policies, procedures and Registered Nurse (RN) staff education.”
The letter from the minister adds that the investigation conducted by the Coroner’s Office and OPP also included identifying potential other victims, as Judson and the Fletcher family have requested.
“The ministry also understands that the Ontario Provincial Police and the Coroner’s Office investigations included identifying other potential victims that were receiving patient care at the time of Ms. Coyle’s employment at La Verendrye Hospital. As this may be subject to further police investigation, and is currently before a quasi-judicial body, the ministry will not speak further on these matters until these processes are completed.”
Judson has been critical of Riverside for its recent paid advertising campaign in the Times and Daily Bulletin earlier this month. The ad, in part, denied allegations that the organization had prior awareness of narcotic thefts.
“Riverside Health Care has become aware of inaccurate and false public statements related to these events. There have been anonymous messages and social media postings suggesting that at least one person at Riverside Health Care was aware of issues relating to the theft of narcotics prior to the identification of the discrepancy. There is absolutely no truth to these suggestions or allegations and these false statements are seemingly intended to undermine confidence in Riverside Health Care.”
The ad also ran in the Jan. 4 edition of the Daily Bulletin which was the ninth anniversary of Hermina’s death.
In an emailed statement for this article, Riverside says they regret the inadvertent timing of the ad’s publication.
“Riverside Health Care sincerely apologizes to the family of Mrs. Fletcher for the timing of the release. It was an inadvertent oversight. We encourage anyone who may have a concern about the care they or a family member has received to contact us directly.”
The statement added that Riverside has cooperated fully during the multiple investigations.
“In addition to an extensive internal investigation, Riverside Health Care cooperated fully with the Ontario Provincial Police and Coroners office in their respective investigations and reviews of these events,” it said.
The Health Minister’s letter also outlined several steps taken by Riverside in an effort to investigate the death of Hermina and mitigate the risk of further instances of narcotic theft.
“Review of narcotic paper records for every shift until an automated process was initiated; Multiple years of health records were reviewed, and all documentation provided to/ reviewed by the Ontario Provincial Police; and Monthly patient safety trend report is delivered to the Riverside Health Care’s Board of Directors… To further safeguard patients and reduce the risk of medication administration errors, the Northwest Regional MediDispense Automatic Dispensing Cabinet (ADC) was implemented on March 10, 2015, at all three Riverside Health Care locations, including La Verendrye Hospital. Features of the ADC system include: ADC access is specific to the unique user ID and override reports are automatically generated in Pharmacy each day. Pharmacy investigates all medication pulled on an override, and any concerns are brought forward to the Manager/Director. End of shift counts are completed at each shift change with staff leaving and the oncoming staff. This count occurs for every narcotic and controlled substance that were removed from the cabinet on that shift, reducing the number of narcotic/controlled substances being counted or accessed.”
Judson Howie expects the civil suit against Coyle to be concluded early in 2024.
