Dementia patient escapes Fredericton hospital, takes taxi to McAdam

MCADAM, NB – A family is upset after a loved one suffering from dementia escaped the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital and took a taxi more than an hour away.

The family of Winston Enman believes he followed visitors out of his unit on the third floor of the hospital, onto the elevator and to the main entrance. Security cameras show a women called a cab for Enman. He told the driver to take him about 80 kms away, to McAdam.

Dressed only in a pajama top, grey pants and slippers, Enman rang his stepdaughter’s doorbell.

“My sister opened her door to my stepfather standing there,” said Wendy McIver, Enman’s other stepdaughter.

It was -25 outside when Enman left the hospital. McIver’s sister paid the cab driver the $90 fair and called the Chalmers Hospital. They told her they had noticed Enman was missing around 2:30 that afternoon, but hadn’t called the family.

“‘What if’ is what has chilled us right to the bone,” said McIver in an interview with Global News.

“He could have actually froze to death. He could have died. That’s serious, he was there for protection, we left him there for protection and he got out.”

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In a statement, Horizon Health Network’s Nicole Tupper said, “In this particular case, a missing patient response procedure was initiated and followed precisely. We have been working with the Office of the Fire Marshal to install a patient wandering system for selected units.”

McIver said the family is upset at the cab driver. She said the driver should have realized something was wrong because of what Enman was wearing.

Enman is now at Wauklehegan Manor where he wears a wristband that alerts staff if he leaves the building.

“He’s crying a lot because he is so sorry that he caused stress on everybody, but he’s safe,” said McIver.

The family said they warned staff that Enman would try and leave. McIver said families should let hospital staff know of their concerns, and those concerns should be documented.

“My mom passed away in Dec., and where he has dementia, he still thinks she’s alive, so he wants to go home to his wife, that’s what he had in his head.”