Inquest hears from only doctor in Fredericton ER the night man died waiting for care
Darrell Mesheau was already cool to the touch when he was rushed into the Fredericton hospital's emergency department, a coroner's jury heard Tuesday.
That means he hadn't had any circulation in "quite a while," Dr. Shawn Tiller, who was working alone on the overnight shift that day, testified via a prerecorded video.
Mesheau was discovered unresponsive in the waiting room of the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital ER by a licensed practical nurse around 4:33 a.m. on July 12, 2022, said Tiller.
He was "flat-lined," with no pulse, he said.
A designated "code blue" team immediately performed several rounds of CRP (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and Tiller administered epinephrine to try to stimulate Mesheau's heart.
He then used an ultrasound to see if he could detect any faint cardiac activity that the monitor might not be picking up.
But "we weren't able to get any cardiac activity at all."
Mesheau, 78, was pronounced dead at 4:44 a.m.
He had arrived at the ER by ambulance the night before, around 9:33 p.m.
His death sparked outrage across the province and prompted a major shakeup of New Brunswick's health-care leadership.
During a news conference three days later, Premier Blaine Higgs announced the firing of Horizon Health Network president and CEO John Dornan, replaced Dorothy Shephard as health minister and removed the boards of both Horizon and Vitalité.
Deputy chief coroner Emily Caissy and a five-member jury heard evidence from 10 witnesses over two days and watched a portion of the ER security video from Meshau's wait to determine the facts surrounding his death.
The jurors have now begun their deliberations. They will also have the opportunity to make recommendations aimed at preventing death under similar circumstances.
On Tuesday, the jury also heard from the triage nurse Danielle Othen, who said she worked a 12-hour shift alone that night because they were short staffed and she was unable to monitor the vital signs of patients in the waiting room whom she had already triaged because she was too busy triaging new patients coming in.
The head of pathologist testified Mesheau's cause of death was deemed to be heart failure.
Horizon Health Network administrative director Susan McCarron told the jury about an internal review that came up with eight recommendations, all of which have been implemented.
Members of Mesheau's family, including his son Ryan, have attended the proceedings and are expected to offer comments to the media later today.
