Patient care is ‘on the verge of collapse’: Abbotsford hospital doctors

Frontline physicians at Abbotsford Regional Hospital (ARH) are sounding the alarm for what they feel is an out-of-control health-care crisis.

1130 NewsRadio spoke exclusively to a group of doctors, some who’ve been granted anonymity, who warn patient care is being jeopardized.

Surgeon Dr. Terry Leung says the facility isn’t very big and as the region’s population grows, staff are overwhelmed. She says ARH is a “no-refusal site,” which means even if there’s no room, they are required to continue to accept patients.

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These doctors say capacity at the hospital is currently at 130 per cent and as a result, patient beds are sometimes placed in shower areas of other patients’ hospital rooms.

“You are lucky if you get the shower room because at least it has a door,” said Leung. “People are in the hallways. If you’re lucky you get a partition because I’m sure we’re running out of those too. You get the alcove. You might get the patient lounge, which is divided into a three-person room. They’re not even rooms, it’s out of control.”

The doctors say that for years they’ve gone through the appropriate channels to ask for help, but feel overlooked and ignored.

“We feel very much like we’re second or third-class citizens and pushed off to the side. And now we’ve gotten to a point where we’ve got critical shortages everywhere. It’s not just one or two holes,” explained Leung.

Doctors say there is a shortage of resources, money, space, nurses, and doctors, including hospitalists.

Leung breaks down what an average visit could be for a patient.

“If you think you had a broken leg and you came through the emergency department looking for help, you come in and there’s congestion everywhere. It takes you two hours to physically get into the department,” she explained.

“[It] takes you another 10-plus hours to finally see a doctor because they’re so behind and where you’re waiting to see a doctor, you’re in a pod full of other patients. … Once you’ve finally seen the doctor, you’re waiting another maybe two or three days before you actually get a bed up on the ward.”

Leung adds surgical wait times are even longer and will get bumped back to accommodate emergencies.

These frontline physicians say the issues at the hospital are the result of “years of neglect” from the Fraser Health Authority (FHA) and are adamant that care at the facility is on the verge of collapse.

The physicians are pleading for the B.C. government and the health authority to give equal attention to all hospitals. They feel Surrey, for example, gets a lot of attention, partly because they believe it to be a political battleground.

“This is a bigger slap in the face, when we see other sites in our health region getting the exact resources that we’ve been asking for, for years, meanwhile we have no promise of any money. Nothing. Our Fraser East patients … are not political bargaining chips, these are human lives at stake,” explained Leung.

“Retention is one of the biggest pieces. We’re in such a bad situation where we’ve hit the point where it’s a downward slope. It’s a vicious cycle. Our manpower shortages are so low that those who are remaining are burning out, so they leave, and when you have attrition, then you’re not really encouraging new people to come in.”

When it comes to coping on a mental and emotional level, Leung admits staff are “not dealing” well.

“We’re just soldiers here, working with what we’ve got. We’re all stretched pretty thin. I’m exhausted from having to talk about this over and over again because I feel like, ‘Why is nobody listening?’ Like, this is such a big deal, how can anyone not care? It’s frustrating.”

To add salt to their wounds, she says staff don’t have guaranteed parking spots. Additionally, they can’t park on the side streets because it’s a residential zone and some staff have been told to take transit or ride-hailing services to work. Leung says she is among those who have been ticketed for parking in “undesignated spots” in the staff or patient lot. She questions why either are having to pay.

Patients often not assigned a doctor: ARH physician

One doctor 1130 NewsRadio spoke to who doesn’t want to be identified publicly, describes another key issue, saying “there aren’t enough physicians” and a “lack of support” for Most Responsible Physician services — doctors who are assigned to patients, whether it’s in the emergency room or another unit.

This doctor says on any given day, there are patients without a doctor including those in the ER. Pointing out, ER physicians are drowning in demand and have no one to hand a case file over to, so they juggle both — attending to patients in the ER and those who are admitted, which this physician feels is resulting in “sub-optimal” care.

This physician tells 1130 NewsRadio that doctor contracts should be modified by the B.C. government instead of being hospital to hospital. They say the agreements should be based on things like patient demand, various metrics, resources, and the population.

“It’s like giving a person a rain jacket who lives in Surrey and saying, ‘I’m going to give the same rain jacket to someone who lives up north in the dead of winter and say, ‘Well, it works for people in Surrey, why doesn’t it work for you?'” they shared.

Currently, ARH doctors don’t have a contract, this doctor shared, with the one for hospitalists having ended several years ago, while the one for Internal Medicine expiring earlier this year.

This doctor says the doctor-to-patient ratio at ARH currently is at least 20 patients for every physician, stressing morale is low.

“The trickle-down effect is very real. When one doctor asks another for help, “How do you say no? The workload is high. The number of consults for our service has skyrocketed,” they shared.

In a stunning admission, this doctor shared that staff don’t want their own loved ones cared for at ARH.

“It’s bad when staff are saying, ‘I’m not sure I feel comfortable taking my own family to this hospital.’ I don’t feel safe having friends and family be admitted.”

This doctor says there is a severe lack of specialists at ARH and it’s burdening other facilities to take on their patients.

“Abbotsford Regional Hospital is a regional hospital that’s expected to act like one, without resources,” the doctor added.

Doctor hopes Ministry ‘cares about’ Fraser East services

This doctor goes on to say resources, so far, are very “west heavy.”

“Royal Columbian Hospital is getting a new tower. Burnaby is getting a new building. Surrey Memorial Hospital is getting a new tower and increased services in Cloverdale. It ends there. ARH needs a new tower, needs an out-patient centre. If those services are there, they could hire more specialists. I really hope the Ministry [of Health] cares about us, too.”

The so-called “hallway healthcare” is heartbreaking, this doctor says.

“If you put yourself in the shoes of the patient or their family, it’s awful. The children will advocate for their parents, and they’ll ask us, ‘My father has been in the hallway for three days, why aren’t you finding a bed for us?'” they explained.

“I have parents too. I can feel their pain too. But there’s nothing we can do. We can’t expand the hospital building or kick out existing patients to make beds for them. We feel demoralized and really, quite helpless.”

The doctor has a warning to incoming patients.

“Expect to wait a long time, and actually, still not have a doctor to see you.”

1130 NewsRadio reached out to Fraser Health for comment, but the request was denied due to the upcoming provincial election.

“During the provincial election and interregnum period, the government is in a caretaker mode and all Government of B.C. communications are limited to critical health and public safety information, as well as statutory requirements. Thank you for your understanding,” the health authority said.

If you would like to share your health care experience, please reach out to Sonia Aslam.