Grandfather’s sudden death in Laval ER after not seeing doctor for 11 hours under investigation

Umberto Mastantuono had already been at the Cité-de-la-Santé emergency room for hours and did not want to be moved.

“He trusted the fact that I’m in a hospital,” said his wife Diamante Mastantuono. “‘If something happens, I’m safe. I’m in a hospital. They’re not gonna make me die.’”

Mastantuono, 69, died soon after. He spent 11 hours in the Laval hospital ER without ever seeing a doctor.

“Why did it happen?” Diamante is asking. “Why was he not seen before 11 hours?”

Mastantuono, who was feeling unwell and had low blood pressure, went into Cité-de-la-Santé on Feb. 11 around 2 p.m. He was seen by the triage nurse and was sent to the waiting room.

Diamante, who stayed home with the grandchildren, says his condition deteriorated rapidly.

“We wanted to go get him, take him elsewhere,” she said.

“When we asked him, he says, ‘no, no, I’m fine here. They’re gonna see me soon.’ But the soon never came.

“He didn’t think this was gonna happen. He didn’t think Cité-de-la-Santé was gonna fail him.”

---

Mastantuono had a history of heart issues, such as being treated for arrhythmia.

Diamante says while in triage, her husband did an electrocardiogram to assess his heart activity, and when results didn’t point to any problems, he was forced to wait, even as he started to feel worse and asked for help.

“If you see a man who’s been there 11 hours and you know he’s complaining of chest pains, shouldn’t you be seeing him again right away after you know he has a heart condition?” asked Diamante.

“Eleven hours is unacceptable,” she added.

Around 2 a.m. the next morning, the family was called to the hospital and told Mastantuono was in serious condition. Then Diamante’s son broke the news.

“So we got there, and he says, ‘Dad is gone,’” recounted Diamante. “I go, ‘gone where, where’d he go?’ I thought he just took his clothes and left. He got fed up of waiting, didn’t call and just left. So I was getting mad and he says, ‘no, mom, dad died.’ I says, ‘it can’t be. I spoke to him at eight o’clock.’ I made him talk to the grandkids. He said goodbye to them and he says, ‘I love you, Nonno loves you. Go to bed.’”

---

The Mastantuonos don’t know what caused the sudden death. The Centre intégré de santé et services sociaux (CISSS) de Laval, which oversees Cité-de-la-Santé, tells CityNews an internal investigation is underway.

“I need to know that it’s not gonna happen to another person,” Diamante said.

The CISSS de Laval admits Mastantuono’s death “raises legitimate concerns.”

“Based on the analysis, measures could be put in place to improve the safety of monitoring and reassessment of users, if necessary,” the statement reads.

The CISSS de Laval says it contacted Quebec’s coroner’s office, which confirmed to CityNews it will also be investigating.

“At this stage, we cannot confirm or deny information related to the causes and circumstances surrounding the death since the coroner’s investigation process is confidential until the release of his final report, which is public,” the coroner’s office wrote.

The office of Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé says it is asking Santé Québec to “monitor the situation closely,” which the health authority confirmed it is doing in collaboration with the CISSS de Laval.

“Our hearts go out to this man’s loved ones,” Dubé’s office added.

Diamante says the days without her husband have been difficult, and the grandchildren are asking about their nonno.

“It’s hard for me with three small children that every morning get up and say, ‘where’s Nonno Bob?’ And I say, ‘Nonno Bob is with his parents.’ ‘OK, let’s call him.’

“I have to live through this every single day.”