Monty Vann suffered a stroke after being discharged from the Health Sciences Centre five days after undergoing brain surgery. (CBC)A man who suffered a stroke after being released from a Winnipeg hospital last month encountered more troubles when he tried to get back in again, CBC News has learned.

Monty Vann, 60, had a brain tumour surgically removed at the Health Sciences Centre (HSC) on Oct. 8. The surgery was considered high risk because Vann, who is blind, also suffered from heart problems.

Vann's family told CBC News that on Oct. 10, after less than two days of recuperating from the successful surgery, the hospital issued a discharge order.

Relatives said Vann was still bleeding behind one ear and had about 60 staples in his head.

After three more days of battling with the hospital over wanting to stay to recuperate further, Vann agreed to leave and was discharged the morning of Oct. 13.

But Vann had a stroke in his brother's car while on the way home.

Monty Vann's brother, Mark Vann, said his brother was harrassed to leave the hospital after having brain surgery. (CBC)When the brother, Mark Vann, drove back to the hospital's emergency room, the staff initially refused to help Vann out of the car because he wasn't in an ambulance.

The family was told to call 911 to get ambulance paramedics to bring Vann in, as per hospital policy for transporting patients in such serious condition. After about three minutes, hospital staff relented and wheeled Vann in, according to Mark.

Vann, who has been at the hospital ever since, is now paralyzed on one side of his body, unable to speak and is unresponsive, according to his family.

They have accused HSC staff of badgering Vann to leave the hospital initially before he was ready to be discharged. The family told CBC News that Vann was told he would have to pay for his continued hospital care out of his own pocket if he didn't leave by Oct. 10.

Family allegedly urged to not go public

In a written complaint to the hospital, the family also alleges a person who worked in the Patient Representative Office (PRC) called the family to pressure them not to go public with the story.

The role of the PRC is to work with patients and their family to try to resolve concerns about communication and care at the hospital.

Adam Topp, the HSC's chief operating officer, said the hospital has apologized to Vann's family. (CBC)Adam Topp, HSC's chief operating officer, has apologized to Vann's family and admits the hospital handled the case badly. He said staff at HSC are being retrained on the hospital's discharge policy as a result of the incident.

Topp said he is looking into the matter regarding the patient advocate as well, saying it is not their role to get involved in damage control, "it's to understand situations where we have disagreements, get to the bottom and have a transparent communication about what went on.

"If family wants to go to the media, that's entirely up to them."

As for the incident outside the hospital's ER, Topp said his staff "used judgment and did the right thing."

He said patients outside the hospital are dealt with by paramedics from the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service.

'We can't write a policy that anticipates every event.'—Adam Topp, chief operating officer at Health Sciences Centre

"I don't know what the exchange was between family and the ER in that situation but I can imagine if someone came in and requested help for a family member outside, the immediate response is to call 911," he said.

There is a clear policy about calling 911 for anyone outside of the hospital, Topp said. However, in this case, the staff re-evaluated the situation and made the correct decision to help Vann into the building, he added.

"We can't write a policy that anticipates every event," he said.

Short hospital stay advisable

An Edmonton neurosurgeon says getting out of the hospital quickly, even after brain surgery, might be the best thing for a patient.

Dr. Keith Aronyk at University Hospital in Edmonton says neurosurgical or cardiac wards are often contagious places and difficult to keep clean.

"The trend is towards more and more minimal procedures, shorter stays in hospital and in some cases, day surgeries, to minimize a person's exposure to a hospital ward," he said.

Aronyk couldn't comment on the case in Winnipeg but said it is often better to discharge patients quickly and get them out of the hospital environment.

He said complications following brain surgery are difficult to predict and may come even after a patient has had a long stay in hospital.

Same hospital where Sinclair died

The Health Sciences Centre is the same hospital where Brian Sinclair, a 45-year-old double amputee with a speech problem, was found dead in his wheelchair after spending 34 hours in the emergency department waiting room in September 2008.

Brian Sinclair, 45, died after waiting 34 hours at the HSC in September 2008. (CBC)Sinclair arrived at the emergency room Sept. 19 after being referred there by another physician. Security tape footage, disclosed by the province's medical examiner, showed Sinclair went to the triage desk and spoke to an aide before wheeling himself into the waiting room.

About 33 hours later, someone in the waiting room approached a security guard saying they believed Sinclair was dead.

An autopsy determined he died as a result of a blood infection brought on by complications from a bladder infection, which itself was caused by a blocked catheter.

Sinclair's death could have been prevented had the blood infection been treated, Manitoba's chief medical examiner, Dr. Thambirajah Balachandra, said within days of the death.

An inquest into the death is scheduled to start Jan. 11, 2010.