Partner of NL man who died while waiting for questioning inside Carbonear hospital ER

A Newfoundland and Labrador woman is demanding an investigation after her husband died while waiting for care in the emergency department of Carbonear General Hospital.

After a long wait, Robert Power’s heart stopped on March 10, 2025.

Power, a retired miner, had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He went to the emergency department because he was having trouble breathing. His wife Betty Lou Power was with him the entire time.

“They tested him and put him in the waiting area and we were there for ten and a half hours,” he said. “He suffered a massive heart attack and died in a chair in the waiting area.”

Power’s heart stopped for several minutes. his heart restartedcardiopulmonary resuscitation, But he never regained consciousness and was taken off life support a few days later in the hospital’s intensive care unit.

Betty Lou Power contacted CBC News after hearing a St. John’s doctor warning that it was only a matter of time before someone died while waiting for care in the emergency department.

“I wanted to set the record straight. It’s already been done in Newfoundland,” she said.

In January, the government of Alberta announced an investigation into the death of a man in an Edmonton emergency department.

Power also wants an investigation into her husband’s death.

“I am looking for justice and accountability for my husband,” she said.

“If he had been seen while he was waiting or had he had some oxygen or something to help him, I probably wouldn’t be here telling you my story.”

Power is remembered as a nice, caring person

Robert Power worked as a miner in Saskatchewan and internationally in Ireland. Betty Lou Power said that he had a mischievous sense of humor and that family was very important to him.

“He was my life. We were together 24/7. We worked together, ate together and slept together. He was a good man. He was a great grandfather. He loved life and he loved his family and he loved to tease, tease and make fun of all the time,” said Betty Lou Power.

“I was sitting next to him when he died and I go there every day. I’ve cut everyone off. I just stay here at home. I go to get groceries and come home because I can’t deal with it.”

Power has held two meetings with Newfoundland and Labrador health service officials and spoke with them on the phone, he said.

“He’s sorry it happened. He told me it should never have happened. He should have done better,” she said.

“One statement (he) made during a phone call that will always stay with me is that, ‘Mistakes happen and we learn from them and move forward.’ I want NL Health Services to know that what happened to my husband was not a mistake. It was complete negligence.”

Power believes health officials should have checked her husband’s condition more frequently while he waited for care. She said that once he was triaged, he was ignored until his heart stopped.

After testing, patients are encouraged to notify the nursing team immediately if their symptoms change or worsen during the wait. They can be re-evaluated and prioritized as needed.– NLHS statement emailed to CBC News

Power is not suing to seek damages, but she wants authorities to take a closer look at what happened to her husband.

“I think the Newfoundland government should investigate and give me the justice and accountability I’m looking for,” she said.

Opposition health critic says ‘unacceptable’

Newfoundland and Labrador was in Liberal government when Power died. Cartwright—L’Anse au Claire MHA Lisa Dempster was in cabinet at the time. She is now the opposition’s health critic.

Dempster said, “It’s incredibly sad. It’s truly heartbreaking. On behalf of myself and my team, I want to again express our sincere sympathies, as we did at the time.” “It is not acceptable when a patient goes to hospital at their time of greatest need and needs the care there when they are at their most vulnerable.”

Dempster said patients could demand safety reviews that could lead to improvements in the health care system, but stopped short of demanding an investigation into Power’s death.

“Obviously, that decision will be up to the people who are in charge of health care right now,” he said.

Power said she has reached out to the new Progressive Conservative provincial government.

“They sent me right back to where I hit a brick wall … (with Newfoundland Health Services),” he said.

CBC News asked the provincial health authority for an interview, but received a statement instead.

“NL Health Services extends our sincere condolences to this individual’s family and loved ones during this difficult time. For privacy reasons, we are unable to discuss any specifics regarding the care of an individual patient,” the statement said.

The statement said its emergency department uses a standardized, nationally recognized triage system – the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) – to determine the degree of urgency patients require.

NLHS said it has implemented several measures to address emergency department wait times and improve the patient experience at Carbonear General Hospital, including virtual emergency services and primary care collaboration, as well as preserving hospital capacity to see more patients in need of emergency and inpatient services.

Power is not satisfied with the health authority’s response, and promises to continue pushing for change.

“I’m not going to stop until I get justice and accountability, because no family should have to go through what this has done to me, their children and their grandchildren,” she said. “I don’t want this to happen to any other family.”

Power said she has been in touch with other families with concerns about health care in Newfoundland and Labrador. She plans to lead a peaceful protest with them at the Confederation Building in St. John’s this spring.

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