By Canadian Press

Desmond inquiry: former soldier says it’s a struggle to get medical records

Feb 17, 2021 | 9:59 AM

PORT HAWKESBURY, N.S. — Access to health records figured prominently during hearings today at an inquiry investigating why a former Canadian soldier from Nova Scotia killed his family and himself in 2017.

The inquiry heard testimony from Albert (Junior) MacLellan, a retired warrant officer who was called in to help the grieving families after Lionel Desmond fatally shot his mother, wife and daughter before turning the gun on himself.

MacLellan, a relative of the Desmond family, told the inquiry he couldn’t understand why it was so difficult for the Afghanistan war veteran to get his military medical records after he was diagnosed with severe PTSD and medically discharged in June 2015.

MacLellan, who served in the military for 31 years, testified that it took him 35 weeks to get his medical records when he left the military, adding that it would have taken longer had he not had help from a friend inside the military system.

The provincial fatality inquiry has heard that when Desmond left the military and moved from New Brunswick to Nova Scotia, health-care providers did not have access to his medical records and there was evidence suggesting this was a persistent problem for veterans.

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MacLellan told the inquiry it should be mandatory for medically discharged veterans to get their records transferred to a compact disc before they leave the service.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2021.

The Canadian Press