Former inmate’s death could have been prevented says grieving father

“Somebody who has been drinking every day for months for sure they’ll need help right away like detox. Instead of the jail, they should have sent her to the hospital,” he said.

While acknowledging his daughter struggled with addictions issues, Bruce said his daughter was also kind hearted and always willing to help people. When asked what outcome he would like to see come from this week’s inquest, Bruce said there needs to more compassion from within the institution towards people with addictions issues, and more supports offered with respect to treatment and counseling.

“Something should be done. It should be made mandatory in there as soon as you get in there,” he said.

A total of nine witnesses are expected to testify over the course of three days. Among those to do so on Monday was Pamela Huyter, a correctional officer at Pine Grove, and the staff member who initially assessed Wescoup.

Huyter’s job at the time as a classification officer was determining among other things what area of the jail an inmate should go to, and what was their risk for violent behaviour.

She noted seeing Wescoup a number of times over the past 20 years, and described her as a good inmate who had addiction issues. On the day in question, she said Wescoup was no different than the previous times she had been through intake and showed no signs of being in distress beyond a bad hangover.

“There were no concerns really,” she said.

Huyter explained that roughly 80 per cent of inmates who go through intake, are going through withdrawals. While she has no authority to send Wescoup directly to hospital, Huyter confirmed she did tell the nursing staff that Wescoup was dry heaving.

When Coroner’s Council Robin Ritter asked Huyter what changes, if any, she would make in the wake of Wescoup’s death, Huyter replied she had full confidence in the jail’s staff.

“I feel at Pine Grove we go above and beyond what we are supposed to do,” she said, adding her belief that changes need to come from within the community with respect to addictions support and shelter space.

Huyter then provided an example of where staff called a taxi for an inmate because a shelter bed could not be found.

Another witness on Monday was Dr. O. Egbeyemi, who has a medical practice in Prince Albert, but also for the last 18 years has been helping provide medical services at Pine Grove.

On the night of Wescoup’s death, Egbeyemi recalled getting a phone call from nurses at the jail, who had explained that Wescoup had scored a 21 on the CIWA, a scale used by the Saskatchewan’s Health Authority to assess a patient’s risk level from alcohol withdrawal. A score of 24 is the highest risk.

Part of the somewhat subjective test may involve a score out of seven with respect to the patients heart rate or shaking. Egbeyemi explained when he inquired about Wescoup’s vitals, they were normal, which wouldn’t normally match up with a score so high.

Rather then making a recommendation to send Wescoup to hospital, nurses were instructed to give Wescoup a second test in two hours with the expectation it might provide a more accurate reading.

“I didn’t get the impression Miss Wescoup was in immediate danger of passing away,” Egbeyemi advised.

When asked what policy changes he would like at the jail, Egbeyemi explained he would like to see a shift from paper to electronic records, adding staff at this time are only able to see the patient’s history from the institution.

While the cause of Wescoup’s death was not formally a part of Monday’s testimony, Ritter did explain it was alcohol withdrawals.

The purpose of the inquest this week is not to lay blame but rather help prevent similar deaths from happening in the future.

The six person jury, which is comprised of both men and women, from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous backgrounds, may come up with a list of their own recommendations.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell

by Nigel Maxwell

Former inmate’s death could have been prevented says grieving father

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