Two women have died in Nova Scotia after going to the hospital but not being able to see a doctor in time due to long E.R. wait times.
On New Year’s Eve, 37-year-old Alison Holthoff went to the Cumberland Regional Health Centre in Amherst, in extreme pain and screaming that she was dying, according to her husband, Gunter.
Gunter Holthoff told CBS News that they got to the Health Centre at 11 am but didn’t get to see a doctor till after 6 pm.
“Unfortunately, I do feel like she was neglected, and it was to a point where they couldn’t ignore us anymore,” said Gunter.
Alison eventually had a cardiac arrest and passed away early into the new year.
The previous day, another Nova Scotia woman, 67-year-old Charlene Snow passed away at home after spending 7 hours at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital without seeing a doctor.
According to her daughter-in-law Katherine, Charlene had returned home after she was unable to see a doctor. She had a heart attack shortly after.
“I’m mad. I’m angry,” says Snow. “A sudden death like that is hard enough,” she told CTV News.
“It is so shocking, and it happened in the house, so there was family there, but when you add an extra layer on top of that, that maybe it could have been prevented, it just really compounds the grief and takes it to another level.”
Nova Scotia Health Minister Michelle Thompson says investigations are ongoing in both incidents.
“The results of the investigation will be shared with the family when complete and the recommendations from the investigation will be acted on,” said Thompson.
