A patient and safety review has been launched at Abbotsford Regional Hospital following the death of a three-year-old Indo-Canadian girl Nimrat Gill.
She died five hours into her second hospital visit in two days on Feb. 7. Nimrat started getting sick on Sunday, developing a cough and other cold symptoms in the morning. But her condition was dramatically worse at night.
Her mother Balraj Gill said,"They checked her and said to give her Tylenol every four hours. We gave her Tylenol but at night time, the next night, she couldn't sleep again. She was vomiting, so I took her back to the hospital the next morning"
They say she doesn't have any infection or anything, it's only just a regular cold."
But Nimrat began vomiting Monday night, so they took her back to the hospital early Tuesday morning.
"Within five hours, she was gone," Balraj said.
The family believes she was suffering from pneumonia, but the official cause of death has yet to be determined.
"She was such a sweet girl. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to say," Balraj said.
The Fraser Health Authority says it can't comment on the specifics of this case, but any time there is an unexpected death, a patient safety review is conducted.
"Our hearts do go out to this family during this incredibly sad time. This is certainly not a situation that we're taking lightly," said Fraser Health Authority spokesperson Tasleem Juma.
Two days after Nimrat's death, their family doctor received the X-rays confirming she had a severe case of pneumonia that caused further infections.
The province's health minister, Terry Lake, was asked about Nimrat Gill's death and Fraser Health Authority's review following a press conference announcing new funding for mental health and addiction services.
"I don't want to second guess health professionals and the decisions they make but Fraser Health along with Abbotsford Regional Hospital are doing a deep investigation into this to understand exactly what happened so we can determine changes in procedures and processes to avoid this in the future," Lake said.
Nimrat's mother said she hopes staff learns to be careful when it comes to children, and her aunt hopes a separate facility for children is built in Abbotsford.
"The system should be more careful about children," she said. "They should check them properly."
She says this ordeal has been incredibly difficult for her family, especially Nimrat's nine-year-old sister.
"Her birthday was Feb. 9," Balraj said. "She is missing her. She says she can't sleep without her and asks how can she live without her. Why is she gone so soon?"
Nimrat’s funeral service will take place at Fraser River Funeral Home at 12: 30 p.m. on Sunday, February 19.
