More bad press for the folks at Northern Health as a Rupert woman was forced to go to Terrace to deliver her child. A Nursing shortage at the Rupert on the Seafest weekend, resulted in a Demerol fueled shuttle to Terrace in an ambulance as it became apparent that the delivery time was near.
Her plight and the other complaints over the months and years about services provided (or not) caught the attention of a few of the city councilors at Monday’s Council meeting. Ken Cote and Tony Briglio seemed to be the most vociferous about the issue, their comments and the background on the latest bit of bad PR were presented in the Daily News Tuesday edition, reprinted for your research purposes below.
NEW MOM FORCED TO GO TO TERRACE TO DELIVER
By James Vassallo
The Daily News
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Page One
Despite their best wishes, Leslie Olsen’s baby boy Callas just wouldn’t be born on Northern Health’s suggested schedule.
“On Friday the 9th I started to go into labour so I phoned down to (Prince Rupert Regional Hospital) to let they know,” said Olsen, who ended up having her baby out-of-town.
“They told us it would be fine as long as I went into labour the 9th or morning of the 10th.
“If I went into labour the evening of the 10th or the morning of the 11th they said I would have to go to Terrace because there’s no maternity nurses on.”
Baby Callas – happy and healthy despite his mother’s ordeal – wasn’t willing to comply, and Olsen ended up shuttled to Terrace in the back of an ambulance on Saturday the 10th to give birth to her child away from friends and family.
“The doctor came in and said ‘sorry we’re going to have to shoot you up full of Demerol and send you to Terrace in the ambulance because we have no nurses’,” she said.
”I ended up in an ambulance for an hour and a half with five minutes apart contractions sucking on an oxygen bottle.”
“It thought it was pretty horrible that I was going through all that and they’re like ‘you’re not going to be given any choice here, you’re going to have to do this.”
Olsen’s boyfriend and two friends were not permitted in the ambulance and made their way to Terrace at their own expense.
The same night a second woman was taken by medevac helicopter from Rupert to give birth in Terrace.
“When she came in her baby was already crowning,” said Olsen.
“Because there were no nurses.. her doctor actually had to come with her.’
While at the hospital Olsen was shocked to learn that while there was no maternity nurse that Saturday night in Prince Rupert, there were two scheduled for Sunday morning.
“It makes you wonder because it was also Seafest weekend on a Saturday, did everyone want to go to Seafest?,” she said. “I have friends that are nurses and I know if you don’t want to work you just don’t answer your phone, right?
”Why isn’t the person at the bottom of the seniority list forced to go to work? This is one of those essential services you’d think.”
She gave birth that Sunday morning in Terrace at 10:10, assisted by a maternity nurse – from Chilliwack.
“The lady there was from a temp company in Chilliwack,” said Olsen.
“They had managed to bring her up and give her an apartment and fill their spot. There was another nurse coming that was going to share her apartment that would also be temping. They’ve managed to find people in Terrace, why can’t they here?”
On Monday, morning Olsen wanted to return to Rupert with a friend but was told they would not re-admit her new born son with her to the hospital if she didn’t go back with him by ambulance.
She now says she’s waiting for insult to be added to injury in the form of a bill from B. C. Ambulance for the ride back.
“Because I had a c-section I had to hang on to my stomach the whole time because it was such a rough bloody ride.” She said.
“A friend of mine’s daughter had an epileptic attack and they billed her $350 for the ambulance ride
“I’m fully expecting to be billed, I’m just waiting for the bill in the mail, but we’ll see what happens.
The issue of Northern Health’s level of service was again front and centre for city councillors last night in light of Olsen’s experience.
“It’s time our city council got involved in terms o what our medical professionals have to tell us … what is and what is not happening.”, said Coun. Tony Briglio.
Coun. Ken Cote said he had an hour and 45 minute meeting with Health Services Administrator Sue Beckermann and there are some explanations for the many difficulties facing local health care.
“There are reasons why there are staff shortages, there are reasons why on a long weekend they have to send people out to Terrace,” he said.
“I would be in favour of extending the invitation to them to have the discussion I had. It will clear the air and give everyone the understanding of what are the pitfalls… of operating hospital.”
Briglio stressed that these are not conversations that can happen in private and that these explanations need to have community oversight as they once did prior to the creation of Northwest Health, the province’s largest health authority.
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