Erika Snelgrove has been mourning the death of her father, Danny Deagle, who passed away from septic shock shortly after being discharged from the emergency department at Dartmouth General Hospital. Deagle, aged 59, had pre-existing conditions including diabetes and had presented with symptoms such as fever and severe back pain. Two days after his visit to the ER, he died, which Snelgrove attributes to a lack of proper medical evaluation during his visit, particularly the absence of basic blood tests that could have detected an underlying infection.

Snelgrove explains that she brought her father to the hospital in a wheelchair after he had been unwell for a week. However, despite waiting for eight hours in the ER, she claims her father did not receive a proper examination by a doctor before being sent home. She highlights that the nurse only suggested reaching out to their family physician for follow-up care, which she feels was insufficient given the seriousness of his symptoms.

This tragic incident raises concerns about the standards of care in emergency rooms in Canada, particularly in Nova Scotia. Snelgrove is advocating for accountability, emphasizing that proper protocols should be followed to ensure that patients with serious health conditions receive the necessary attention and tests to prevent similar outcomes in the future. Her case sheds light on the potential shortcomings in emergency medical care and the impact such failures can have on families and communities, igniting a call for improved healthcare practices and policies.