An experienced emergency room nurse gave troubling testimony today about the situation in a major hospital in Ontario. She spoke at a coroner’s inquest regarding the death of an Indigenous woman who had been sent home from the St. Catharines hospital with instructions to take Tylenol.
The nurse, who provided evidence in the case of 24-year-old Heather Winterstein, works as a triage nurse at the St. Catharines hospital. At times, she was visibly emotional as she recounted the challenging conditions nurses faced.
Nurse Andrea Demery explained how overwhelmed staff were by the number of patients in the emergency room during the time being examined. She described going to work as “scary” because nurses realized they wouldn’t be able to fulfill their duty to care for patients properly.
Demery was on duty as a triage nurse in the St. Catharines hospital emergency room on December 10, 2021, when Winterstein arrived via paramedics. Winterstein had come to the hospital with intense back pain just a day earlier but was reportedly sent home and told to take Tylenol by her mother’s account.
She returned the following day with worsening pain and ultimately passed away at the hospital due to necrotizing fasciitis, commonly referred to as flesh-eating disease.
“At that moment we had 47 patients waiting who also needed assessment and it was just my partner and me,” Demery stated. “It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed and lost. How can you possibly keep track of one person when you’re responsible for 47? It’s just not realistic.”
: Date set for coroner’s inquest for Indigenous woman who died in St. Catharines hospital
Winterstein’s death took place during a time when hospitals were crowded due to COVID-19. Demery mentioned that although conditions have improved somewhat, overcrowding is still an issue.
<p Regarding Winterstein's treatment, Demery testified that she depended on a report from paramedics that she found “inadequate.” Given the circumstances, her only interaction with Winterstein consisted of her “looking at her briefly” from “maybe five to ten feet away for three to five seconds” without conducting an actual examination or speaking with her.
She asserted that nurses should “always speak to the patient,” but noted that this was “a standard of our department that wasn’t being enforced” by hospital management.
Winterstein waited two and a half hours in a waiting area without any medical evaluation before collapsing onto the floor.
NDP MPP for St. Catharines Jennie Stevens remarked that this incident highlights a critical need for more nurses across Ontario.
“Our government keeps saying they’re building new hospitals and adding beds, which is essential,” said Jennie Stevens. “But truthfully, beds don’t provide care; people do. And without enough nurses – especially when one nurse has several dozen patients … front-line workers are doing their best under tough circumstances but are short-staffed, leading to impacts on patient care,” said Stevens.
Winterstein’s family has voiced concerns regarding potential anti-Indigenous discrimination affecting her treatment at the hospital. In response, Demery stated they treat everyone fairly and expressed condolences towards Winterstein’s family.
A representative for Health Minister Sylvia Jones informed CHCH News today that since 2018, over 100,000 new nurses have registered within Ontario, along with an additional 30,000 currently studying nursing there.
The government has initiated programs aimed at increasing nursing staff within Ontario while also committing record funding towards health care initiatives.
: Inquest called into Indigenous woman’s death at St. Catharines Hospital in 2021
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