Abbotsford woman details medical nightmare at local hospital

One woman is sharing her story after an 1130 NewsRadio exclusive on Wednesday detailed the concerns of a group of doctors at Abbotsford Regional Hospital (ARH) who sounded the alarm on patient care at the facility.

Those doctors pointed to “years of neglect” from the Fraser Health Authority (FHA), while one physician said they wouldn’t feel “safe” having their friends or family admitted to the hospital.

Abbotsford resident Catherine Piper says she spent four days in the emergency room last month after falling ill and not being able to get in to see her family doctor.

“It was an absolute nightmare. I was completely left to my own devices,” she said.

The 58-year-old says on the second day she asked for food and drink. On day three, she was upgraded to a bed from a reclining chair in a “skirted-off room” with four other people, but remained in the ER area.

“People were coughing. The lady behind me was throwing up and she was so close to me that I couldn’t even fully recline my recliner. I got virtually no attention that night. I lay there. I was starting to get really scared,” she told 1130 NewsRadio.

After day four, she explains she was taken to Chilliwack after her kidney condition worsened to the point that she needed surgery.

“Nobody took me seriously.”

Piper is adamant that if she can help it, she won’t return to the facility — she gives the care a failing grade.

“It was absolutely an F. I literally felt dehumanized, and it was traumatic. When I finally got home … the first three nights, I was just laying there, I couldn’t even sleep thinking of how close I was to dying. I’ll never go [back]. I told my husband, I don’t care if I’m having a heart attack, I’d say, ‘Give me two Aspirin to chew and take me somewhere else, preferably out of Fraser Health.'”

She doesn’t blame the staff at the hospital but says it’s time the health authority and province worked on a solution.

Piper says different doctors told her different things and the lack of clarity around her care plan was stressful.

One surgeon at ARH told 1130 NewsRadio they aren’t surprised by her experience, saying these kinds of waits are “pretty common.”

“Happens all the time. It’s atrocious.”

But they point out that physicians in the ER work a rotation of shifts and as they wait for a diagnosis and for test results to come back, patients may be visited by other doctors.

This physician also points out it’s possible Piper was taken to Chilliwack for further care because that’s where an on-call urologist was able to perform her surgery.

In response to Piper’s experience, Fraser Health issued 1130 NewsRadio the following statement.

“As you know, during the provincial election and interregnum period, government is in a caretaker mode, and health authority communications are limited to critical health and public safety information,” it stated.

“That said, we’re sorry to hear about this person’s concerns with their care experience at Abbotsford Regional Hospital. We’re committed to caring for every patient and ensuring they and their families feel supported throughout their time with us. We apologize if their experience didn’t reflect this. We encourage them to reach out to our Patient Care Quality Office so that we can thoroughly look into any clinical concerns and answer any questions they may have.”