Man who died after being turned away at Brandon hospital was 'desperate for help' with addiction: mother

A man who went to a southwestern Manitoba hospital seeking treatment for alcohol addiction died the next day, without being assessed by a doctor — a case his mother says raises questions about how patients with addictions are treated.

Ryan Eamer, 46, went with his mother, Brenda Eamer, to the Brandon Regional Health Centre emergency department seeking detox services on Feb. 18, 2021.

At the time, the ER waiting room was nearly empty, says his mother. Brenda says initially the nurse told them Ryan was too intoxicated to be admitted to a detox bed. They were told to go home and for Ryan to return within 24-48 hours when he was sober.

She insisted her son should be seen by a doctor that day, because she knew he suffered from alcohol withdrawal seizures.

She left the hospital after checking him in. At some point after that, he fell while waiting to see a doctor, a later review into his death found.

Despite internal records that show he was not a threat to others, a decision was made to call police and have him placed in a jail cell to sober up under Manitoba's Intoxicated Persons Detention Act, which gives police the authority to detain a person who is intoxicated if they are deemed a danger.

His mother was never informed her son was being detained by police. She only found out when the police phoned her to tell her she where she could pick him up.

"He was desperate for help," she said.

"If they didn't want to be bothered with him, just phone me and say, 'Come and pick him up.…' Why would they put him through all of that?"

After four hours in police custody, Ryan asked to go back to the hospital.

Although he had a visible mark on his head when he arrived, he was not triaged or assessed by a doctor, according to a review of his death by Prairie Mountain Health, the regional health authority for southwestern Manitoba.

After his earlier experience, he felt humiliated and told his mother he just wanted to go home and sleep.

His mother took him back to his apartment. She promised to return in the morning so they could go back to the hospital and try again to access detox services. 

The next day, Ryan didn't respond when she knocked on his door. She went back at 11 a.m., then 12:30 p.m.