Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 25, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A4 A 4 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2014 TOP NEWS winnipegfreepress. com 204- 885- 3330 ASDowns. com ALL YOU CAN EAT JUST $ 23 95 Glen & Tommy win $ 300 each for just $ 1.60 in bets on new Jackpot 6! Seafood Thursday's at Prime RibBuffet " Better than a lottery" Get a lucky streak going in the huge VLT lounge! 9 AM - 2 AM Congrats ! CAN $ 39 95 DINE FOR 2 With this coupon at any Thursday Prime Rib buffet. Reservations req'd | Expires March 20/ 14. 204- 885- 3330 FREE WAGERS ON THE JACKPOT 6 this Saturday, Mar. 1/ 14 8 With this coupon between 11: 30 AM & 1: 30 PM Present at VLT Cage. One per person . Shrimp macaroni & cheese . Roasted red pepper cod . Smoked salmon pasta salad . Citrus baked haddock MUCH MORE! . You pick 6 numbers . Tickets cost $ 2 each . You can win millions for $ 2 . There are lesser prizes . You pick 6 horses ( you can see the odds and other info) . Tickets cost 20 cents each . You can win millions for 20 cents . There are consolation payoffs often in the thousands of dollars - Glen & Tommy JACKPOT 6 RACES ARE RUN WEDNESDAY TO SUNDAY AFTER 1: 30 PM REGULAR LOTTERY NEW JACKPOT 6 Glen James ( mechanic), left, and Tommy Lightwood ( auto parts clerk) work at Birchwood Honda West. They had never played the races before. FEAST ON BRIAN SINCLAIR died in a packed waiting room because there were too many patients in emergency for whom there was no hospital bed available, an inquiry heard Monday. Lori Lamont, vice- president and chief nursing officer of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, said a major reason for the logjam is there are few personal care home beds for patients who no longer need acute care in hospital. Lamont said that's why the province has approved funding to build two new personal care homes with 120 beds apiece. Lamont said another 60 beds will open about the same time when a renovation and expansion at an existing facility is completed. " There are 80 or so in acute- care beds now and 100 are on our waiting list... at home living with home care and some family support," Lamont said. She said the facilities should open in two years. Sinclair, 45, a double amputee who used a wheelchair, went to Health Sciences Centre on Sept. 19, 2008, and was pronounced dead 34 hours later after being discovered non- triaged in the ER waiting room. Sinclair died of a bladder infection caused by a blocked urinary catheter. An autopsy found Sinclair could have died in the waiting room two to seven hours before he was found. Lamont said the WRHA is speaking with the province about building more facilities to meet the continuing demand. She said of the 36 personal care homes in the city, three are operated by the WRHA while the rest are funded by the WRHA, but are either notfor- profit or corporate. Lamont said studies show the demand for personal care home beds will continue to grow until 2036 and then " drop off dramatically." " Until then, we've projected we need five new facilities in relatively short order and one new one per year until we get to 2036." Lamont said after that, several of the current facilities will have reached the end of their life span and will be closed. She said because the average stay in a personal care home is about three years, about one- third of beds open annually. Meanwhile, Dr. Catherine Cook, the WRHA's vice- president of population and aboriginal health, was asked by WRHA lawyer Bill Olson whether her employment with the WRHA prevented her from stating her opinions on how aboriginal patients are treated. Cook responded by saying she is M�tis, her husband is First Nation, as well as her children and grandchildren. " I've been very aware of systemic racism since I was a teenager," she said. " When I first graduated from medicine I became aware. it's still a real eye opener how discriminated some communities are. I don't just mean health care, but also education and all the services that make you healthy and well." The inquest continues. kevin. rollason@ freepress. mb. ca V INCENT Li walked into a Winnipeg courtroom Monday afternoon in shackles, solemn and silent and trying everything he could to be small. Unfortunately for Li - the man who gained infamy in 2008 by beheading a passenger on a bus between Winnipeg and Edmonton - there is nowhere for a man with a story like that to hide. In some ways, it is hard to believe it is almost six years since Li took the life of Tim McLean. An undiagnosed schizophrenic, Li was found not criminally responsible ( NCR) for his actions, and sent to the Selkirk Mental Health Centre to begin the path back to stability. Given the gory nature of McLean's death, the prospect of Li's reintegration into society was purely theoretical. He was a lost man with a very sick mind, and it was always possible he would never leave the hospital. On Monday, at a hearing before the Criminal Code Review Board, we learned his ultimate release from hospital is not just possible, it's probable. Li has been a model prisoner. He has not had a single negative interaction with other patients or staff in Selkirk. He has enjoyed unescorted walks on the hospital grounds and escorted trips to Selkirk and Winnipeg. All without incident. As a result of these promising developments, psychiatrists want Li to be moved to a non- lock- secure section of the hospital. It has also been recommended he be allowed 30- minute unescorted passes to Selkirk, and visits to Winnipeg with minimal supervision. Ultimately, these steps are being taken to pave the way for Li to be reintegrated into the community. Obviously, this is no small matter for the public in general, or McLean's family and friends in particular. Some of McLean's family have been vocal about the need to keep Li in custody indefinitely. The federal government even introduced a new law, motivated in part by McLean's death, that would hold those found NCR longer in hospital, with fewer privileges. So, who are we to believe? The family of the victim and politicians, who believe the mentally ill can never be released because they can never control their impulses? Or, the physicians, who believe that willing patients and the right medication can eliminate future risk? This is one of those watershed debates for our community. It is a moment where rational needs to triumph over irrational, and fact needs to dominate intuition. It's a moment in time when we need to acknowledge and understand the important semantic point raised by the term " not criminally responsible." Now, there will be those of us who do not aspire to compassion, or mercy, or enlightenment. In fact, human nature is such that we are never forced to embrace enlightenment about anything. If we really don't want to. Still, some important facts associated with Li's condition must be acknowledged in any debate about his potential release. Li was an undiagnosed schizophrenic. At the depth of his paranoia, Li suffered from a profound psychosis, a break from reality, where he heard voices and experienced hallucinations. Psychiatrists who have overseen his treatment say since submitting to treatment and medication, he no longer has delusions of any kind. More importantly, Li does not now, nor has he ever suffered from an anti- social or personality disorder, substance abuse or shown any violent tendencies before his tragic meeting with McLean. Li was, prior to this awful incident, the perfect example of an ordinary, educated, high- functioning adult who was ravaged by mental illness. He is the person we should be helping, not punishing. The person we should be nursing back to health. Interestingly, we heard on Monday that when it comes to the final decision on whether to release someone found NCR, the review board can consider factors other than the mental state of the patient. It is, for example, also concerned about whether Li could be harmed by a member of the public who will simply not tolerate his re- integration. That is the ultimate tragic irony in this already tragic story. Li is doing his part to control his mental illness. We know thanks to science that at the time he killed McLean, he did not have the mental capacity to understand his actions. There are no issues of will or motivation or personal responsibility. He had a disease that took away his self- control. There are few certainties when it comes to mental illness. However, it seems now the only thing that is certain to keep Li incarcerated indefinitely is our insistence on ignoring the indisputable facts of this case. Vince Li is getting better. With a bit of luck, and more than a modicum of enlightenment, maybe society in general could do the same. dan. lett@ freepress. mb. ca SCAN TO SEE VIDEO ON ER CHANGES Li improving, maybe society can do same Some enlightenment is in order DAN LETT Lack of beds a factor in Sinclair's death Waiting list for personal care homes creates hospital logjam By Kevin Rollason WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES A drummer pays homage to Brian Sinclair after his funeral service in 2008. FAMILY PHOTO Tim McLean and his mother, Carol deDelly. Some of McLean's friends and family object to Li being given more liberties. A _ 04_ Feb- 25- 14_ FP_ 01. indd A4 2/ 24/ 14 9: 24: 20 PM ;