Atrium deaths spark Brandon hospital refit

Steps will be taken to ensure no one else plunges from the atrium of the Brandon Regional Health Centre, an official said Wednesday.

A man who jumped from the fourth-floor balcony of the atrium on Friday died of his injuries on Tuesday, the health authority said Wednesday. The man he landed on, who was in a wheelchair, is recovering from a shoulder injury.

On Dec. 31, a female patient also plunged to her death. The names of the deceased have not been made public.

Barriers will be installed on the third, fourth and fifth floors, Brian Schoonbaert, CEO of the Brandon Regional Health Authority, said Wednesday.

"In both of these incidents visitors [and] staff have been traumatized by the event," Schoonbaert said. "And we have to make sure that this does not happen again."

The health authority said the guard rails on the balconies were designed to prevent accidental falls, and the most recent deaths weren't accidental.