I read Mr. Wulchuk’s letter about his mother’s death that may have been related to discharge policy at the Vernon hospital.
I understand Interior Health Authority officials have stated that all procedures were followed appropriately.
I don’t know what happened in this case, but the fact that injury and death after hospital discharge keeps happening in this province indicates this is not a problem with frontline health care workers.
This is an issue of the very senior administrators refusing to take the concerns of the public seriously.
Can IHA produce data that suggests its discharge policy is safe?
I suspect that if this was evidence-based policy Mr. Wulchuk wouldn’t have to write to the local paper to warn people that leaving hospital may be lethal for you or your loved ones.
I hope Mr. Wulchuk knows he is not alone in his concerns.
The coroner announced an investigation into the cases of people who died soon after discharge from a Lower Mainland hospital. Frustrated families lobbied tirelessly for this.
It is clear that if citizens are to understand what is going on in health care, we need more public disclosure.
We need more people like Mr. Wulchuk writing letters and telling of their health care experiences.
B. Cousins
Enderby