Woman's death probed by health officials

Two reviews will be carried out on how and why a 68-year-old woman died just hours after being sent home from the emergency ward of a Winnipeg hospital.

Heather Brenan collapsed on her doorstep last monthand died a short time later. An autopsy determined she died fromblood clots in her legs.

She had been in the emergency ward of the Seven Oaks Hospital.

Her daughter, Dana Brenan, has recieved a verbal apology from the hospital but is upset she can't get anything in writing aboutwhat went wrong.

"I have been told I will getnothing on paper. I will get a verbal overview about the critical incident report," Dana said, claiming hermother had been taken offblood thinners while atthe ER.

"I'm wondering why they took her off her blood thinners. She was on them for a reason," Dana said.

"They took her off her blood thinners, her diabetic medication, they didn't feed her, they didn't listen to her and they just sent her home," she added.

"I feel they ignored her and sent her home to die. It was through neglect and disinterest and they did admit the timing of her release was suspect."

No one from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority would be interviewed about the case.

The WRHA released a statement, however, that called the incident "tragic."

"Administration of both Seven Oaks Hospital and the regional emergency program are reviewing what happened during the time Mrs. Brenan was in hospitalboth the health care interventions and interactions she and her representatives had with staff in the emergency department," the statement said.

"The incident has also been declared a critical incident and so is also being looked at by a regional team which is conducting a patient safety review [and] looking at the bigger picture: what policies and process we have in place and what opportunities for improvement exist in order to help prevent a similar occurrence.

"This was a tragic incident and we have apologized to Mrs. Brenan's daughter and will be keeping her informed as our work progresses."