Was my wife’s hospital care an anomaly or the new normal in Ontario?

Over the past few years, I’ve written several articles praising the Canadian health-care system based on my own experiences or the experiences of those close to me. But my family’s recent experience has me wondering if the system is collapsing into third-world status or if this incident was simply an outlier.

In a 2018 Huffington Post column, I described  how my life was saved by my local hospital in Hamilton (St Joseph’s Health Centre). I was rushed by ambulance the day after a routine colonoscopy when my blood pressure collapsed. The paramedics could not find a vein for an IV as I was transported to hospital. Though in a semi-conscious state in the emergency department (ED), I recall hearing the doctors suggest my next of kin be notified.

While there were only theories of what had happened to me, I was discharged and back home in five days.

In my blog two years ago, I described my experiences with three Toronto hospitals on behalf of a friend for whom I had power of attorney. He had Alzheimer’s and collapsed in his assisted living home. He was taken to the Toronto General and was stunned by how willing the medical staff were to meet and discuss options for him and the considerate care he was given. He needed long-term nursing care with security because of behaviour problems so we agreed he would go to Toronto Rehab. Sadly, and to no one’s fault, he tried to escape from his wheelchair and broke his hip.

That led him next door to Mt. Sinai, where they operated. As is often the case, there were complications; he ended up in palliative care and later died. Staff were kind and compassionate. Each of the three hospitals were caring, efficient and respectful.

My most recent positive experience was the beginning of this year when I broke my femur. Back to St Joseph’s for six weeks of excellent care and rehab. Even the food was pretty good.

But then came the travesty.

My wife experienced a dizzy spell one morning and fell in the bathroom. Aside from what turned out to be a few broken and very painful ribs, the paramedics were concerned with her low oxygen saturation rate, as was the ED doc. The Hamilton General (part of Hamilton Health Sciences) admitted her and she lay in the ED waiting for a bed. She asked for something to eat and drink but staff nodded, and no one gave her any liquid or nourishment. She lay there thirsty and hungry for most of the day. That was bad enough, but it got worse.

Assigned a semi-private room on the fifth floor, the nursing staff rarely answered the call button or were slow even when she needed pain meds or to use the bed pan. They claimed they were too busy. As she was bound to her bed, she was not washed, bathed or had the bed made from the time she was admitted to that unit (five days). No one offered her a basin of hot water and towels until I demanded it and helped her clean as best I could.

After a few days, a physio and occupational therapist arrived, sat her on a chair in the hall for 15 minutes and then went to lunch for an hour and half. This was the first time she was able to sit up, but it was for too long and exacerbated her pain. She asked staff to help her back to bed but they refused. Not their job.

At this point, I tracked down the clinical manager and left a long voice mail. Though people in health care often do not answer the phone, she did respond with a visit and apologized for what had happened. But there was no change in care. To make matters worse, someone from the business office arrived to tell my wife she was in a semi-private room and wanted to know if we had coverage. Given her state of health, she was not sure. The business office told her that if she did not have coverage, they would have to move her. Just what a person in pain wants to hear. I’m listed as the next of kin and should have been called.

I should mention that all televisions in the hospital have been removed so patients can’t amuse themselves. I was told this is a cost-cutting measure but patients normally pay for it themselves anyway.

By now it was Friday, so I called patient relations. No one answered the phone but the voice message said they would return the call within five business days. I didn’t bother leaving a message but called media relations; they also did not answer the phone.

I decided to wait until Monday to escalate since senior staff are rarely there on weekends. On Sunday, however, there was another absurdity. As I mentioned, staff were slow to respond to patient requests for assistance and a member of the staff told my wife to stop calling for help. “We are not going to answer your requests,” my wife was told.

The most senior person I could find was the unit charge nurse who got an earful and apologized.

I was up at 3 a.m. Monday to research senior management of the hospital and locate the e-mail addresses for the physician in chief, the vice-president of nursing care and the vice-president in charge of “people, culture and communications.” There are 20 senior executives of the hospital earning a total of about $5.2 million plus benefits per year.

I sent my e-mail to the top doc at 5 a.m. starting with “I am writing to you as the physician in chief of HHS for help prior to my contacting the media.” He replied at 8:10 with apologies and a promise to talk to all involved and report back by day’s end. Later that morning, I got replies from the VP of people and the chief nurse who also gave me her personal cell phone number. I even received phone calls from the unit clinical manager and the director. Later that evening, my wife was moved and assigned to a new doctor.

In a phone call I had with the head of nursing, she expressed surprise about the service in her hospital. She said I did all patients a favour in pointing out their shortcomings and many will benefit.

All of this, sadly, surprised me as well because at the height of the COVID epidemic, my son was rushed to the General with severe abdominal pains. They thought he had a ruptured appendix and was waiting to go to the operating room for a blocked bowel by the time I got there. Staff said not to wait but they would call me. And they did. The surgeon called in the middle of the night to say they were able to correct the problem laparoscopically. The next morning, I took a phone charger to him, but the ward was under lockdown. His nurse met me in the lobby to get it and the coffee I brought.

That was the type of care I expected for my wife but did not get.

So, was her care an anomaly or is it the way of the future? I don’t know but I sure as hell hope it is not the future.