Manitoba promises full investigation into amputation of wrong leg at Grace Hospital

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Manitoba’s Health Minister is promising a full investigation after a man said he went to the hospital to get his right leg amputated and woke up to find his left leg was gone instead.

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“I want to be clear that my office takes this incident seriously and is working with health officials to identify steps that can be taken to prevent it from happening again,” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara Thursday said in an email. “This is a heartbreaking situation that no one deserves to go through.”

Questions continue to swirl around an alleged incident last month, after Jason Kennedy, 48, of Bloodvein First Nation, said he was scheduled to have his right leg amputated at the Grace Hospital in Winnipeg on Oct. 31, because of a bone infection.

The surgery went forward that day, but the former commercial fisherman claims he woke up to find that his left leg had been amputated below the knee, a scenario the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) has since referred to as “nightmarish.”

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The province is pledging to get to the bottom of what happened when Kennedy went for his surgery last month, according to Asagwara.

“A critical incident review is being conducted to understand exactly how this incident happened, to evaluate all existing protocols, and to determine which protocols were not followed and what needs to change,” Asagwara said.

“My office is working with the WRHA to assess options for engaging external physician consultants to help determine how to change or strengthen existing protocols. We will take every necessary step to ensure that patients in Manitoba can put their trust in our healthcare.”

The health minister added the WRHA’s Indigenous Health Department will investigate whether “racial bias” contributed to the incident.

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In an email, a spokesperson for the WRHA said they could not confirm any details of what happened during Kennedy’s Oct. 31 surgery because of patient confidentiality and referred to the incident as a “complex clinical situation.”

“We are aware of an incident and the distress it has caused the patient, their family and the care providers,” the spokesperson said. “Members of the care team have personally met with the patient to offer their sincere apologies and to discuss next steps.

“The incident is currently under review by our patient safety team to identify potential system learning opportunities. The results of this review will be shared with the patient once complete.”

Both the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) and the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) have already called for a full investigation, and for Indigenous leadership to be involved in any investigation.

“The AMC is calling for immediate action to ensure a full, transparent investigation into this incident, and demands that the Assembly be a part of the review process,” AMC Acting Grand Chief Betsy Kennedy said in a media release. “We need to ensure that First Nations are fully represented in the review of this incident.”

The Southern Chiefs’ Organization has also expressed concern, with SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels calling the incident “disturbing and nightmarish” and calling for a full public inquiry.

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