NDP calls for accountability after death of senior who wandered away from Saskatoon care home

SaskatchewanThe Saskatchewan NDP is calling for an investigation and accountability after an 86-year-old man with Alzheimer’s wandered out of a Saskatoon care home unnoticed and died days later. Family says they’re still waiting for answers from Sask. Health AuthorityAishwarya Dudha · CBC News · Posted: Oct 29, 2025 8:45 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesSaskatchewan NDP deputy leader Vicki Mowat, left, and Bailie Smith speak at a news conference Wednesday. Smith’s grandfather William Cone, who had Alzheimer’s, died after wandering away from a care home in Saskatoon. (CBC News)The Saskatchewan NDP is calling for an investigation and accountability after an 86-year-old man with Alzheimer’s wandered out of a Saskatoon care home unnoticed and died days later. “The Saskatchewan Health Authority needs to explain how this was allowed to happen. We’ve seen too many similar tragedies like this in our province in just the last few years,” NDP deputy leader Vicki Mowat said at a news conference on Wednesday. The incident raises questions about lax regulations and lack of oversight in government-run care homes, Mowat said.William Cone was wearing slippers and using a walker when he fell and broke his hip after wandering away from the Preston Special Care Home, which is operated by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), on Oct. 11. His family thinks he got out through a normally locked door that was propped open during renovations. Cone died in hospital on Oct. 20.Mowat was accompanied at the news conference by Bailie Smith, Cone’s granddaughter.“We put him in the care of the Saskatchewan Health Authority, thinking that that was the right move, and it blew our lives up,” Smith said. “He was known to wander — that was part of the reason why we had put him in there because my grandma was taking care of him alone.” William Cone, 86, died after walking out of a Saskatoon care home unnoticed. Cone, who had Alzheimer’s, was placed in a care home by his family thinking he’d be safer there. (Submitted by Bailie Smith)The care home is operated by the SHA, which said in a statement on Monday that it had reached out to the family to discuss concerns around the death and is doing a formal review into the incident. However, Smith said at the news conference that the SHA has not contacted the family. “SHA has not reached out to us at all. I know they said they did but they have not reached out to us,” she said. Smith said they tried to contact the provincial ombudsman but kept hitting roadblocks. NDP says incident part of larger patternMowat pointed to the death in February of a 96-year-old man who she said was found frozen to death after he wandered out of a care home in Saskatoon. The NDP has also highlighted the case of a 91-year-old who died 13 days after being admitted to a care home, alleging lack of oversight and funding.“We’ve seen too many similar tragedies like this in our province in just the last few years,” Mowat said. Mowat said the province needs better standards and regulations for care homes“We hear from health-care workers who haven’t had a raise in three years, who are overworked, understaffed, underpaid.… We no longer have minimum care standards in our long-term care facilities. Their guidelines, they’re not required to be followed,” she said. WATCH | Family says tragedy could have been prevented:Family of man who died after leaving care home undetected say tragedy could have been preventedWilliam Cone died after walking out of Preston Special Care Home in Saskatoon unnoticed. The 86-year-old had Alzheimer’s and was placed in a care home by his family, who thought he’d be safer there.Smith said the family is still waiting for answers as they’re processing their loss. “I don’t know that we’ve really even had time to grieve properly just because of how it happened,” she said. “We’re more wanting to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” She’s calling for safety changes, such as mandatory cameras, alarms or patient bracelets.Lori Carr is the minister of mental health and addictions, seniors and rural and remote health. She responded to the incident at the legislature on Wednesday. “It’s my understanding that the SHA is doing an inquiry on what happened, and so we’ll look forward to those results,” she said. “They haven’t started the investigation yet, so as soon as they they get that information we’ll be made aware of what happens.” ABOUT THE AUTHORAishwarya Dudha is a reporter for CBC Saskatchewan based in Saskatoon. She specializes in immigration, justice and cultural issues and elevating voices of vulnerable people. She has previously worked for CBC News Network and Global News. You can email her at aishwarya.dudha@cbc.ca