Family demands answers after Fredericton ER sends man home hours after breaking neck

John Barnet received six hours of hospital care for a broken neck and sternum before being told he had to go.

Now his family is demanding answers as to why the 41-year-old man was released from Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton hours after he crashed his motorcycle and with little follow-up care for injuries that would it could have long…term effects.

“It’s unacceptable,” Taylor Grandy, his wife, said in an interview Friday.

“He should still be in the hospital. It really should be, you know, at least a week or more.”

Barnet recently bought a motorcycle and went for a ride with a friend Tuesday afternoon, Grandy said.

Shortly after crossing the Princess Margaret Bridge on Route 8, Grandy said, her husband hit some gravel, lost control of the bike and hit the highway median.

Paramedics took him to Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital around 8 p.m., where he was treated for a broken C7 vertebra in his neck, a broken sternum, a broken nose, a split tongue and broken teeth.

Grandy said she rushed to the hospital fearing the worst.

When she got there, a nurse warned her about the severity of Barnet’s injuries before taking him back to the emergency room on a stretcher after his CT scan.

“There was so much pain. So much pain. He said, ‘Taylor, I think he broke my back,’ and it was just a mess.”

Grandy said once the CT scan results confirmed the broken vertebra in his neck, staff began giving her instructions to keep the braces her husband had around his neck.

Then, without explanation, they informed the Barnet couple that he would be discharged from hospital later that evening.

“They were going to put him in bed … to get him moving and they said, ‘You can go home tonight.’

“And even John couldn’t believe it.”

Grandy said she called Barnet’s sister around 1 a.m. to help him get up and out of the hospital. After a 90-minute struggle to move him without injuring him, they loaded him into the family’s minivan with their five children and headed back to their home in Fredericton.

Staff sent Barnet home with some Tylenol tablets, prescriptions for naproxen and morphine and a referral to a neurosurgeon in Saint John, Grandy said.

It’s a decision that, even two days later, still perplexes her given the severity of his injuries.

“And the doctor told me if he moves a certain way or if he takes his (brace) off or something, he could be paralyzed.”

Grandy also said he called the neurosurgeon Barnet was referred to the next day, only to find out he was off duty for the next week and a half.

In a statement to CBC News, Horizon Health Network said Barnet’s discharge was not related to bed availability or staff shortages.

“This patient was medically discharged from the ED after the physician completed his assessment using clinical judgment and consultation with colleagues,” wrote Margaret Melanson, Horizon’s interim president and CEO.

Both patient services and the hospital have been in contact with the family about their concerns, Melanson said, and a specialist is following up with the patient for further medical evaluations.

“Horizon apologizes for any part of the care experience that did not meet their expectations,” Melanson said. “We look forward to continuing to provide care to this patient as he recovers.”

Grandy is the second person this month to publicly criticize Chalmers Hospital.

John Staples said he witnessed the death of an elderly man while waiting to receive treatment in a hospital waiting room in the early hours of the morning of July 12.

It prompted Horizon to launch an investigation into what happened, and later prompted Premier Blaine Higgs to fire Horizon CEO John Dornan and replace the boards of Horizon and Vitalité with individual administrators.

I am looking for action from the Prime Minister

In addition to his wife, Barnet’s parents are also demanding answers and action in light of the decision to discharge him hours after arriving at the hospital.

“The hospital’s action leaves us disgusted and angry,” Dave and Nancy Barnet said in a letter they sent Thursday to Higgs.

“Why wasn’t our son kept under observation for at least 24 to 48 hours after being told he might be paralyzed? Why was he sent home in his condition after six hours?”

In an interview Friday, Dave Barnet said he had not heard back from Higgs, adding that he was looking not only for an explanation but also for action to improve care at the hospital.

“I hope to hear that there will be a statement or news that they will find more money or allocate resources or transfer money and get more nurses and/or doctors in (Chalmers) to address this critical situation,”, Barnett said.

In an emailed statement to CBC News, Higgs said he had received the Barnet family’s letter and would be contacting them to learn more about their experience.

“It’s not something I’m going to comment further on in the media as I’d rather speak to them directly,” he said.