Sarah Mills: Saskatchewan's throne speech a blueprint for... what?
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Tears rolled down the faces of Kelly and Shawna Hanke in the rotunda in the Saskatchewan Legislative Building on Thursday morning as they talked about their daughter Kirsten.
The 30-year-old died in Saskatoon in August. She was waiting on a delayed surgery for a broken ankle when a blood clot made its way into her lung.
Kelly and Shawna joined the NDP for Question Period as they asked Saskatchewan Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill about Kirsten’s situation and what would come of it.
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Kelly said all he heard were political answers.
“Nothing there that we could sink our teeth into that going to involve any change,” he said.
The couple is calling for change within the health-care system so no one else dies while waiting for care as Kirsten did.
Kelly said so far there’s been no accountability.
“Nobody’s taking responsibility for what happened here. From the information we’ve received, it looks like it’s been a huge fail on multiple levels,” he said.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority has launched an internal investigation, and Kelly said he and Shawna had been interviewed, but no other information has been shared and no timeline has been given for when it’ll be finished.
Kirsten Hanke died in August in Saskatoon. She was waiting on a delayed surgery for a broken ankle when a blood clot made its way into her lung. (Submitted)
Jim Billington, vice-president of communications for the Saskatchewan Health Authority, couldn’t give a timeline for the investigation. He extended the health authority’s condolences to the Hanke family, and said the organization committed to accountability.
“When these situations do arise, we have formal processes in place to ensure that patient safety concerns are reviewed,” explained Billington.
He said he couldn’t share specifics of the Hanke investigation, but explained that it will include an examination of patient notes and charts, and interviews with the team that provided the care to take an impartial view of the situation. Billington said the investigation aims to find where there could have been gaps in care and provide recommendations to prevent it from happening again.
He committed to sharing the results of the investigation with the Hanke family.
