The family of a man who died after an hours-long wait in the ER at a Montreal hospital is calling for a review of a decision that cleared the nurses who saw him of any wrongdoing.
Akeem Scott went to the emergency room at the Jewish General Hospital in June 2019 with intense stomach pain, and after waiting for four hours, he left without being treated, according to a coroner's report. The 26-year-old man went to a friend's house and died from acute peritonitis.
The Quebec Order of Nurses exonerated the nursing staff involved, but now the family wants that decision reviewed.
Scott would have celebrated his 30th birthday with family just two days ago. Instead, four years after his death, his mother and brother are still left searching for answers.
"He would have been alive if he got the help that he needed at that time," said Scott's mother, Marcia Samuels, at a news conference Friday.
According to the coroner's report, Scott was triaged at level 3 when he showed up at the ER, which means he should have been seen by a doctor within 30 minutes. At one point, he lay in a fetal position on the floor, writhing in pain.
"They just ignored him, completely ignored him," Samuels said.
The family filed a complaint with the Order of Nurses last year. In its response issued last month, the order wrote, "It is indeed unfortunate that your son did not receive a medical evaluation within 30 minutes as provided for by the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale according to the level of priority determined by the nurses."
"We cannot, however, blame the nurses alone for the fact that the reality of the ER makes it difficult to provide medical care within the time limits set by the triage scale."
It added that it does not intend to lodge a complaint with the order's disciplinary council.
The family is furious and has requested a review of the decision.
"I feel that it's unfair that they are taking responsibility away from anyone that was there, there's no professional or personal accountability for the situation," said Scott's brother, Lloyd Allison.
The family believes the medical staff should be held accountable because they say Scott was not treated properly, suggesting racial bias could have been a factor.
"Just the fact that he was writhing in pain and no one saw that as him needing to be either bumped up or taken care of in a different way, I feel that there was some kind of bias there," Allison said.
In an email to CTV News. the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal regional health authority said, following a review of the case, "It found that all standards of care and protocols were fully followed and met by the Emergency Department."
The Order of Nurses did not respond to an interview request from CTV News by publication time.
Its review committee has 90 days to look at the family's application. Meanwhile, Scott's family said they refuse to give up until they discover why he was never treated.
