‘How someone dies matters’: Sask. family searches for answers in their father’s ambulance death

Roger Ogram, 71, was in a vehicle collision and died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. (Courtesy: Chelsey Lujan)

A Saskatchewan family is fighting for answers in their father’s death.

Roger Ogram, 71, died in an ambulance on Nov. 16.

Ogram was being taken to the hospital following a two-vehicle crash he was involved in at an intersection near Alcurve, Sask.

Chelsey Lujan, Ogram’s daughter, said her dad was originally going to be taken to Lloydminster Hospital, about 25 minutes away.

Lujan said the ambulance was rerouted to Battlefords Union Hospital, about 90 minutes away, because CT scanning is not available in Lloydminister on weekends.

“Our dad never got in front of a doctor,” Lujan told CTV News.

Lujan said she wishes her father was taken to the closest hospital, even if there was no CT available.

“He wasn’t able to see a doctor, to assess if he could have made it — and even if he hadn’t, my mom is having a really hard time knowing that my dad died in an ambulance ... instead of at least having one of us by his side.”

Ogram’s family wants accountability and transparency from the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA). They want to know the policy that dictates when an ambulance should be redirected to a further hospital.

“How someone dies matters,” Lujan told CTV News.

The family is also pushing for CT scans to be available on weekends.

“This is a public safety issue,” Lujan said.“It doesn’t really give you a lot of comfort knowing that on a weekend, if you’re injured, you may not be able to get the help that you deserve.”

CTV News has contacted the SHA about why CT scans are not available on weekends, and how long the service has been offline in Lloydminster.

The Ogram family has contacted health officials, including the Ministry of Health and the SHA.

“If they think that we are going to give up on this, then they wildly underestimate our love for our father,” Lujan said.

Ogram is being remembered as someone who “loved the Lord, loved his family and loved his community.”

“A couple weeks before he passed, he was still jumping bails with my nieces,” Lujan said, laughing.

“He lived a quiet life. He was never looking for accolades, he did the right thing because it was the right thing.”