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MLAs demand external investigation in man's self-inflicted stabbing at hospital
Mother of Allisdair Leishman wants answers on what happened to her son in November 2009

Andrew Livingstone
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, March 9, 2011

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Margaret Leishman grieves for her son.

For two years the mother of 37-year-old Allisdair Leishman has only been able to wonder what transpired on Nov. 4, 2009 at Stanton Territorial Hospital when Allisdair, a helicopter engineer by trade, walked into the kitchen at the Yellowknife hospital and plunged a knife into his chest twice.

NNSL photo/graphicNNSL photo/graphic

Margaret Leishman is looking for answers to what happened on Nov. 4, 2009 when her son, Allisdair Leishman, stabbed himself twice while in the care of Stanton Territorial Hospital. Allisdair is now unable to speak or eat due to brain damage from the tragic incident. MLAs passed a motion asking the Department of Health and Social Services to have an external investigation performed examining the day in question. Stanton officials performed their own internal audit, but the results of the investigation weren't released to Leishman. - Kevin Allerston/NNSL photo

The second wound pierced his heart, severing blood flow to his brain.

Allisdair is now in need of continued care, unable to eat or speak, due to brain damage incurred from his stab wounds.

She says all she wants are answers.

Last Thursday MLAs passed a motion demanding the Department of Health and Social Services conduct an independent, external investigation into what happened that day at the hospital.

"I believe a grave injustice took place at Stanton Regional Hospital the day my son was injured," Margaret, who lives in Kakisa, wrote in a letter read aloud in the legislative assembly on Thursday afternoon. "I adamantly feel (an independent review) should be done to help prevent this from ever happening again to anyone."

The events that transpired aren't completely clear to Margaret. In the letter, sent to Great Slave MLA Glen Abernethy, Margaret outlines her understanding of the day in question.

Allisdair was shovelling his driveway. Temperatures that day were as cold as -19 C. Later that day he was seen by a family friend, improperly dressed for the weather and acting strange. He arrived at his cousin's house some time later, and his feet appeared to be frozen. Noticing an evident state of mental confusion, his cousin called for an ambulance and Allisdair was transported to the hospital.

Left in a room without supervision, Allisdair fled the hospital unexpectedly, only to return later seeking a glass of water from a nurse on duty. While the nurse retrieved the water, Allisdair had allegedly begun running through the hospital. It was moments later that calls over the intercom were made, seeking assistance to help with Allisdair, who lay in a pool of his own blood on the floor of the hospital's kitchen.

What upsets Margaret the most is that the results of the investigation completed by the hospital aren't being made available to her.

"To date every avenue that we have tried has fallen onto deaf ears," she wrote in her letter, adding her requests to the Department of Justice, Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission and to the hospital have not provided any details about what happened. "As a mother ... our family demands that we be given answers as well as accountability to the public."

In the legislative assembly Thursday, Abernethy said it's important questions be answered as to what happened on that day and that they be done in a way that the government will learn from them.

"To learn from it, we must know what happened," he said. "We must have a comprehensive non-biased analysis of the event."

Margaret was told after the hospital had completed an investigation into the incident that no recommendations were made to address any problems with protocol or procedures and all details in the internal investigation would remain secret. Abernethy was not happy with this.

"How is it possible that a system has learned nothing from this horrible incident?" he said. "I just don't buy it. It doesn't sound reasonable to me, not even a little bit."

While Abernethy accepts staff at the hospital followed procedure in place to deal with people with mental health issues, he said what he doesn't accept is the fact nothing is being done to address potential problems with protocol at the hospital.

"(Allisdair's) ability to stab himself in the heart in Stanton's kitchen with Stanton's knife while under Stanton's care and treatment suggests clearly that there are some gaps in policies, procedures and protocols utilized at Stanton Territorial Hospital. Transparency, openness and honesty are required in this situation."

Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins said the motion is a step forward in bringing to light the problems with how Stanton deals with patients with mental health issues.

"We need a policy that is reflective of our values," he said Thursday. "We need a policy that reflects full disclosure so that families will be able to understand the situation, will be able to work to healing, will be able to work to understanding what happened."

Letters from NWT Senator Nick Sibbeston, Deh Cho First Nations Grand Chief Sam Gargan and Deh Gah Got'ie Koe First Nations Chief Joachim Bonnetrouge were tabled Thursday in support of an external investigation into what happened to Allisdair.

With 120 days to respond to the motion, neither the Department of Health and Social Services nor cabinet will speak to the issue, according to Damien Healy, spokesperson for the Health department and Drew Williams, spokesperson for cabinet.

"We're hoping it won't take the full 120 days to respond," said Williams.

Yellowknife MLAs Wendy Bisaro, Bob Bromley and Dave Ramsay, along with MLAs Kevin Menicoche, Tom Beaulieu, Jackie Jacobson, Jane Groenewegen and Norman Yakeleya, voted in support of the motion alongside Abernethy and Hawkins. Health Minister Sandy Lee and Industry, Tourism and Investment Minister Bob McLeod abstained from the vote.

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