FORT FRANCES — The family of Hermina Fletcher, who passed away in a Fort Frances hospital as a result of criminal negligence by former nurse Lindsey Coyle, is calling on the provincial government to launch an investigation into the health care facility, believing other families may have been victimized by Coyle as well.
Legal counsel representing members of Fletcher’s family have sent a letter to Minster of Health Sylvia Jones requesting an investigation be launched under the Public Hospitals Act into Riverside Health Care Facilities Inc., which operates La Verendrye Hospital in Fort Frances.
The request follows a sentencing submission hearing that took place on Monday in Fort Frances for former nurse Lindsey Coyle, 38, who pleaded guilty in August 2022 to the charge of criminal negligence causing death.
According to an agreed statement of facts, Coyle, who was employed as a nurse at La Verendrye Hospital in January 2015, altered Fletcher’s medication administration record by increasing the dosage of morphine from two to five milligrams to five to 10 milligrams.
The morphine was never administered to Fletcher by Coyle, who instead stole the drug for her own personal use.
The medication administration was not changed back at the end of Coyle’s shift to read two to five milligrams of morphine and Fletcher was given two doses of 10 milligrams of morphine the night of Jan. 3, 2015.
Fletcher lost consciousness that night and passed away the morning of Jan. 6, 2015. A forensic pathologist said on the balance of probabilities, Fletcher, 76, died as a result of morphine toxicity.
The Crown is seeking a two-year sentence for Coyle, while her defence counsel argued for a three-year suspended sentence. Justice Pieter Joubert is expected to return in either October or November with a decision on sentence.
But family members of Fletcher, who were present during the sentencing hearing on Monday and shared victim impact statements with the court, have raised concerns regarding information that came to light during the submissions.
“First, it was indicated that Mrs. Fletcher’s death was the last event in a series of similar misconduct by Ms. Coyle,” the letter to the Ministry of Health reads. “Second, the Crown indicated that Ms. Coyle had not only modified patient prescriptions, but had also taken out drugs under the names of Riverside patients that did not exist.”
The letter goes on to state that Coyle acknowledged in her statement to the court that multiple families were impacted by her actions.
“Finally, Ms. Coyle indicated that upon her termination from the hospital, she wanted to come forward to police about her misconduct, but Riverside had her sign a document that prevented her from speaking to law enforcement,” the letter reads. “This hampered any possibility of a broader investigation or ability to locate or inform victims back in 2015.”
The family of Hermina Fletcher described what she went through prior to her death as torture when she was denied medication for pain management.
The letter to the Ministry of Health states there is a “very real possibility” that there are other victims of “Coyle’s abuse” and that Riverside “took steps to cover up the extent of her misconduct and danger to patients.”
“We note that since news of Ms. Coyle’s criminal charges became public in August 2019, the Fletchers have been approached by other members of the community who believe that their loved ones were similarly targeted while undergoing care at LaVerendrye Hospital,” the letter reads. “None of those individuals had enough information to act on their suspicions. The statements given during sentencing [Monday] give credibility to their concerns.”
According to the letter to the Ministry, Riverside has not publicly confirmed details of when it became aware of medication being stolen, how long it was taking place, or the quantity of drugs that were unaccounted for prior to the thefts being detected.
Evidence from the investigation is also not fully disclosed, the family argues, because Coyle’s admission of guilt was part of a plea deal based upon a set of agreed facts.
“As such, there has been no public accountability for what was taking place at Riverside or how the hospital may have failed to notice the theft of painkillers or other patient medication for a prolonged period of time or even taken steps to shield itself from scrutiny,” the letter reads.
The family is calling on the Minister of Health to appoint an investigator to investigate and report publicly on the circumstances surrounding Hermina Fletcher’s death and the management of medication during Coyle’s employment as a nurse at La Verendrye Hospital.
“We suggest that the scope of the investigator’s report ought to include policy recommendations to government and hospitals to improve safeguards and increase victim transparency into the details of professional discipline matters arising from serious and life- threatening misconduct,” the letter reads. “We also suggest that impacted patients, families of victims, and health care workers be contacted as part of this process.”
Doug Judson, counsel for the Fletcher family, said in a statement that Hermina Fletcher’s death has shaken the community’s confidence in La Verendrye Hospital.
“The public ought to be assured that their loved ones are safe in that facility,” Judson said. “Our community ought to know what happened, who was at risk or was harmed, why and how this occurred and for how long, and what measures are in place to prevent it from happening again.”
The Fletcher family filed a $3 million lawsuit in April 2021 against Coyle relating to the incidents surrounding Hermina Fletcher’s treatment and death in 2015.
