Ezra Cool was struck by a semi and killed on Hwy 6 earlier this month.
The 22-year-old’s body was found in the eastbound lanes of the road near Vernon Jubilee Hospital (VJH) on the morning of Feb. 12.
It was later revealed that his proximity to the hospital was no coincidence, as Cool involuntarily admitted under BC’s Mental Health Act six days earlier.
According to Claire Rattée, a Conservative MLA and critic for mental health, addictions and housing supports, the hospital was legally required to keep cool supervised 24/7.
However, Cool escaped the hospital wearing pajamas and socks and was fatally struck in the hours that followed.
“This never should have been able to happen,” Rattée said in a call for immediate answers following Cool’s death.
“When someone is certified under the Mental Health Act, that means the state has taken responsibility for their care and safety,” she explained.
“If a patient in active psychosis can walk out of a hospital undetected after nearly a week under supervision, then the safeguards clearly failed.”
The psychiatric ward at VJH has experienced some turmoil in recent months, highlighted by the resignations of four psychiatrists in October.
Rattée says safe care is not possible without adequate staffing, and “you cannot promise 24/7 supervision if there aren’t enough trained professionals on the floor.”
The Skeena MLA wants the provincial government to answer several “urgent” questions:
Rattée is calling on Health Minister Josie Osborne to provide a full public explanation and to conduct an independent review into the circumstances surrounding Cool’s death.
“This cannot be dismissed as an isolated incident,” she noted. “When psychiatric services are destabilized and oversight fails, people die. The government cannot keep claiming the system is working when parents are burying their children.”
