‘Maddening’: Family of Winnipeg woman who died after lengthy hospital wait calls for change

The family of a Winnipeg woman who died after seeking emergency care is calling for action, following the release of further information about the circumstances surrounding her death.

Stacey Ross, 55, died last January after experiencing chest pains and visiting St. Boniface Hospital twice that month. The first time, she was treated after a 12-hour wait in the emergency department on Jan. 3.

She was seen by a physician and referred to a cardiac outpatient clinic, according to a letter outlining a critical incident report from St. Boniface Hospital and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) obtained by Global News said. Her outpatient appointment was set for Jan. 21, 2026, but she returned to the emergency room before that date, on Jan. 15, with chest pains, the letter said.

During her second 12-hour wait, some testing and assessments were completed. Among those assessments was a troponin test.

The test measures the amount of troponin protein found in a person’s blood when the heart muscle is damaged. Despite the test having been performed, it was not reviewed by triage staff, according to the letter, which pointed to “patient volumes and competing demands” for the delay. When the results were reviewed later, the test detected elevated troponin.

Stacey’s sister, Sherri Ross, said finding out the test wasn’t assessed was “maddening.”

“They didn’t communicate the troponin levels, and that ultimately is what killed her, (it) is really frustrating and maddening,” Sherri told Global News in an interview Tuesday.

Stacey’s sister said when they spoke at 10 p.m. that night in January, Stacey’s condition was unchanged from when she arrived at the emergency department. When she was seen by a doctor 45 minutes later, her condition had changed, prompting the doctor to order additional testing, the letter said.

She died hours later, her family said.

As a result of her death and what the family says has been a lack of change, in her family’s perspective, they are calling on the province to make a serious effort to shorten emergency department wait times.

Sherri said the family “don’t really feel anything came out of the critical incident (report),” especially when it comes to getting answers.

“It’s terrible. I don’t believe anything is being done,” she said. “They say that if somebody’s levels have changed, they’re going to communicate that to the doctor, so that maybe they could be fast-tracked, but I don’t believe any of it.”

She also questioned the delay in formally identifying a cause of death.

“It’s not fair to have to wait that long. Like we don’t even have an ME (medical examiner) result yet from the medical examiner. We don’t have an autopsy. We’ve had nothing, and, like I said, it has been over eight months,” Sherri said.

Stacey’s brother, Ben Ross, said a lack of communication and collaboration must be addressed for wait times to be meaningfully managed.

“It’s a communication problem. Everybody needs to work together. The hospital needs to talk to the health minister. It needs to talk to the premier, and they need to come up with a plan because we can’t just keep losing family,” he continued.

Manitoba’s Minister of Health, Seniors and Long-term Care Uzoma Asgawara said the family is in their thoughts, and they have been in contact with one another.

“I understand how difficult and frustrating it is to still have questions after losing someone they love.  The critical incident review has now been completed and included recommendations aimed at improving care and helping prevent a similar situation from happening again,” the email statement reads.

“No report can undo what Stacey’s family has been through, but they deserve to know that lessons are being learned and acted on. We will continue working with health-system partners to strengthen emergency care, including adding more staff and capacity and improving access to care across the system.”

Asgawara will stay in contact with the Ross family, the statement said.

A WRHA spokesperson also offered condolences to Ross’ loved ones on behalf of the authority’s and St. Boniface Hospital, in an email statement.

“We thank her family for sharing their experiences and perspectives during the critical incident (CI) review process. The CI review has been completed and recommendations have been made to improve patient care and prevent a similar event from happening again,” the statement reads.

“As part of this work, a cardiologist is now providing rapid cardiology consultations in the St. Boniface Hospital emergency department, with the intent to expand the service as staffing allows. This provides emergency department care teams with additional access to specialist consultation for patients presenting with heart-related concerns.”

Stacey’s family said they feel the loss of their sister, and her daughter feels the loss of her mother, constantly. Her sister remembered Satcey for her love for travel, musicals and shopping.

“She was up for anything and not having that is really sad,” Sherri said.

Ben said the hardest part of losing Stacey is feeling her absence.

“There was a moment this summer (when) we were sitting as a family on my back deck and we’re just looking at each other going, ‘Stacey should be here.’ I think that was the hardest thing recently,” Stacey’s brother recounted.

“It’s awful. It’s completely awful when you lose someone like this.”