B.C. MLA says dysfunctional system led to Vernon hospital escape, death
Published 2:52 pm Thursday, February 26, 2026
B.C.’s psychological well being Opposition critic Claire Rattée took the province to process Thursday over the circumstances that led to the death of a 22-year-old man who escaped Vernon’s hospital in psychiatric misery earlier this month, saying “this is not a system that is functional right now.”
Ezra Cool was fatally struck by a semi-truck within the early hours of Feb. 12, a couple of kilometre away from Vernon Jubilee Hospital, the place he’d escaped 24/7 supervision and left the hospital in socks and hospital pyjamas, in accordance to his household, who’ve stated Cool was affected by psychosis.
The household beforehand stated that Cool knew he wanted assist and voluntarily checked himself into the hospital. After an evaluation, he was licensed underneath the Mental Health Act, that means he was admitted involuntarily and was due to this fact meant to be underneath around-the-clock supervision.
Speaking in a media scrum outdoors the B.C. Legislature Feb. 26, Rattée known as it a “pretty upsetting situation.”
It’s not the Skeena MLA’s first time talking about Cool’s case.
Last week, Rattée called on the Minister of Health to present a full public rationalization and to conduct an impartial assessment into the circumstances of his death.
On Thursday the MLA pointed to the resignations of four psychiatrists on the Vernon hospital final 12 months, speculating that these resignations “likely played a significant role into how the system broke down.”
Interior Health has to this point declined to say a lot in regards to the circumstances of Cool’s death as a result of an RCMP investigation and the well being authority’s personal investigation are nonetheless underway. But when the psychiatrist resignations got here to gentle final fall, Interior Health government medical director Dr. Peter Bosma instructed Black Press Media on the time that psychiatry sufferers in Vernon wouldn’t want to fear about their general entry to care. Bosma was, nonetheless, referring extra to outpatient care than care inside the hospital.
“Most mental health encounters are going to be as an outpatient, and all these doctors are continuing with their full caseloads, but just focusing in on the community,” Bosma stated in October 2025.
Rattée was up-front Thursday about what particulars of Cool’s case she is unaware of, saying she doesn’t understand how he escaped hospital or whether or not he was being correctly monitored within the hospital.
“But the reality is that a young man is dead,” she stated.
“The system was not there for him. And now I think every single British Columbian out there that has a loved one that’s struggling with mental health, that has a loved one that’s struggling with psychiatric issues, is going to be left wondering, ‘is this a system that’s actually going to support me?’”
Rattée highlighted the “really serious” psychological well being disaster in B.C. and past that serves as a backdrop to Cool’s tragic death.
“And I think the budget that was tabled makes it pretty clear that this is a government that’s not taking that seriously,” she stated, highlighting the long-term care projects that are being delayed for budgetary causes, saying that can solely lead to extra backlogs in acute care and different corners of hospitals which can be already over-capacity.
Cool’s household has stated the younger man spent six days within the Vernon hospital’s emergency division, with out ever being transferred to a psychiatry ward, prior to his escape and subsequent death. Rattée stated this element in Cool’s story signifies an overburdened healthcare system.
“I think that it’s incredibly telling,” she stated.
Rattée added that the emergency division is not any place for a psychiatric affected person to have to keep long-term.
“Can anybody really be surprised that while he’s undergoing severe psychiatric distress, that he wants to leave? Of course not. I would want to leave, too.”
Rattée stated her largest query is: When will the province commit to constructing a psychiatric hospital in B.C.?
“It’s clearly desperately needed. We’ve had a ton of incredibly tragic events happen in the last year, all of which had a mental health focus. The fact that there were many of these people that needed to get psychiatric help that weren’t able to access it — it doesn’t matter if it’s Tumbler Ridge or Lapu Lapu, mental health is the key issue here.”
Harwinder Sandhu, NDP MLA for Vernon-Lumby, was not obtainable to remark as of two p.m. Thursday.
The driver of the semi that struck Cool has not been situated by police as of Feb. 24.
