Family of Filipino mother found dead on hospital floor demanding answers

MONTREAL (CityNews) – The death of an 86-year-old Filipino grandmother, Candida Macarine, is sparking outrage after hospital staff found her dead and are denying her family an explanation.

Macraine was admitted to Lakeshore General Hospital in Pointe-Claire on Feb. 26, due to respiratory distress. The very next day, hospital staff found her dead on the floor.

Her family says they’re being denied a full explanation and have only been able to piece together some of the circumstances of her death thanks to a news report.

“Why hide things from us? Is there a cover-up? Was there criminal negligence? Who is responsible? We demand transparency for a nurse inquest and accountability,” asked Gilda Macarine, daughter of Candida Macarine.

“It was my wife who heard the news on TV. She sent me the link and I couldn’t even finish the article. It made me sick,” said Emmanuel Macarine, son of Candida Macarine. “It was our right to know what happened to our mom and we were there for two hours no one came to see us.”

A CBC investigation described the Lakeshore hospital staff finding Macarine dead and ice cold on the floor in a COVID-19 isolation room.

The family is demanding answers. Wanting it confirmed that the woman found dead is, in fact, their mother.

“Until now, not nothing, not even a death certificate,” explained Gilda Macarine.

“For 13 years I never in my life of service, did I ignore patients complaints, not even a scratch on the arm or pain in the knee. We have to assess right away and give comfort to the patient,” she added.

“We have to comfort the patient. But this one I told them when I went there I told them we bring our mom in your care because we trust you.”

According to Macarine’s son Placido – who traveled from Grande Prairie, Alberta to see his mom – hospital staff promised there would be answers following its internal investigation.

“They refused to give us the necessary information we need about the circumstances of my mom’s death,” Placido Macarine explained.

CityNews reached out to the Montreal Regional Health Authority, which provided the following statement:

“The CIUSSS team takes this situation seriously and is currently conducting an internal investigation. In order not to negatively impact the investigation, we will not comment further.

“We are committed to continuing to communicate with the family and to contact them when this investigation is completed. As is the case with any event (incident or accident) that is reported to us, a process of analysis and continuous improvement has been initiated and is currently underway.”

The statement added: “We remind you that we encourage any person, patient or employee, to report situations that they feel are of concern to them. Appropriate follow-ups are then carried out for the sake of continuous improvement.

“We confirm that you are in close contact with the family. We remain available and offer our support in this difficult ordeal.”

The Macarine family claims the coroner told them an investigation into their mother’s death still hasn’t been launched because they weren’t aware of the situation.

The CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal said Tuesday that it formally apologized to the Macarine family.

This, after the family came out publicly on Monday demanding answers and accusing the hospital of racism.

In a statement to CityNews, the regional health agency admits its communications with the family was lacking and it has asked the Quebec coroner to investigate the circumstances surrounding the 86-year-old’s death.

CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal says it was alerted as to what happened on Mar. 5 and it launched an internal investigation. It says it intends to put any coroner’s recommendations into practice to ensure that what happened to Macarine does not happen again. The statement also says that if the investigation shows that hospital staff acted inappropriately, the CIUSSS won’t hesitate to take action.

“Although the investigation is still ongoing, the CIUSSS is already able to say that its communications with the family were incomplete, especially at the time of the announcement of the death,” the statement said.

After the family’s pleas on Monday, the agency finally acknowledged Tuesday that Macarine was the patient who died on the floor of the hospital, and that it had failed to report the circumstances of her death to the family.

The health authority also says CIUSSS CEO Lynne McVey wrote to family members on Monday and asked to meet with them to offer her support.

“In recent months we have heard of person – whether a woman of colors or Indigenous woman – going to the hospital and dying in very very questionable or unacceptable circumstances. But, one of the real issues here as well, is despite the weeks and months the family still doesn’t have a clear full or transparent answer as to what happened,” said Fo Niemi, Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations.

“The issue is not ‘incomplete’ communications as Lakeshore stated. It is rather a persistent refusal to provide to the family the information to which they are entitled since Feb. 27. It is unacceptable that Lakeshore only reacted due to media coverage, first on Mar. 10 and then yesterday. For this reason, the family cannot trust anything the hospital says. It will speak to the coroner’s office first, which it is seeking with CRARR’s help. In the meantime, it declines to meet or speak with the hospital about the tragic death of Candida”

The family fears Macarine is now part of the many recent cases coming to light of systemic racism in Quebec’s healthcare system.

“What had happened to my mom was a result of a willful and gross neglect maybe because we are men of colours,” said Gilda Macarine. “My mom was old, nobody was with her at the time. I myself felt we are abandoned. My mom was abandoned and neglected.”