'Is your father deceased?': Chris Andrews gets rude awakening from mistaken hospital phone call
A St. John's man got a rude awakening recently, in the form of a phone call from a hospital asking if his father had died.
Musician Chris Andrews says he had just gone to bed at about 12:35 a.m. on Sunday morning three weeks ago when he was awoken by a phone call from a number he didn't recognize.
"I answered the phone, and what I got when I answered it was unreal," he told CBC's St. John's Morning Show.
"The first response was 'Is this Chris Andrews?' to which I said yes, and then the next question was 'Is your father deceased?'"
Andrews said the call came from a nurse at St. Clare's Hospital looking for next of kin to confirm if a man was dead or alive.
"I said, 'B'y, as far as I know my father's alive,' and they said 'What's his name?' I said his name, and they said 'Oh, no, [that's] not him.'"
He said he was confused, and asked why they were calling him, if perhaps it was an uncle or a cousin who might have passed away.
Andrews was told that was "privileged" information, and couldn't be told anything other than the hospital had gotten his phone number from the police.
No answers
He said he called back the number the following morning, but no one at the hospital could tell him why he was called or if normal procedures were followed.
"I don't think there was any malice done by anybody, I think they were just trying to solve a situation, but there's got to be a better way to do it," Andrews said.
Andrews said he eventually discovered that the deceased man had no next of kin, but had the name Chris written in his wallet.
He said he's since spoken to others who have had similar experiences, and he's concerned about the effect receiving that call could have on someone.
"There's got to be a better way to do this than to do that, to start cold calling people in the middle of the night."
Next of kin not always clear
Eastern Health said information on next of kin comes from hospital admission and registration records. As patients register at a hospital, they are asked who to notify in case of an emergency.
"Eastern Health's process for next of kin notification would not involve contacting individuals who are not clearly identified in the patient's health record," a spokesperson said in a statement to CBC News.
Chris Andrews was not listed in the deceased man's information, but in cases where there is no next of kin or no information available, hospital staff have to use other means.
Staff may work with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary or Community Health Services to identify the appropriate person to contact.
RNC Const. Geoff Higdon told CBC News police typically do not do death notification over the phone.
Higdon said the police "work within the borders of privacy," using things like police records, medical information or other investigative techniques to identify the deceased and the next of kin.
