Stories

My Personal experiences with NRGH have all been positive, once I have been seen by a Doctor. But living in Qualicum Beach most personal Experiences have been with the Urgent Care in Parksville. Most of the time, the waits there are just awful. There is nothing worse than sitting in a chair with 20 or 30 people around you who are as sick as you are. Once seen by a Doctor the care has been exemplary. The staff there is stretched to the Max. The wait times for the Laboratory and X-ray are also horrible. In short, the load taken off NRGH is huge. But now the load at this Urgent Care Facility is unacceptable. I believe the needs in this part of the island are a new tower at NRGH, a Cath Lab for NRGH and a much Expanded Urgent Care Facility for Parksville.

I suffered a Heart Attack in June of 2022 and can’t say enough about the FAST and EXCELLENT responses and care I received. However, I’m fully aware that it’s not always the case — I was LUCKY. I was in South Ladysmith at the time. I’m now in South Nanaimo and worried that overwhelmed EMPs and hospital services simply won’t be able to respond in the same way should I have another emergency. NANAIMO needs and deserves MUCH BETTER. Given the enormous wealth evident on The Island it should be a no-brainer to provide top-drawer Medical Services from the South (which already has it) to the North where it is woefully inadequate.

I have a vascular issue, and to see a Doctor I have to drive 3 hours to see a specialist in this field. Most times the visit is completed in just a matter of minutes. I have another appointment scheduled for this month and I’m sure sitting in a car for 6 hours on a return trip is not good for my condition. Until I saw this flyer in the paper, I didn’t realize why we needed to go so far to get this care.

I have been having trouble with Sciatica and my back on and off for the last two years, but mostly in the previous year. My doctor ordered an MRI for me on November 1, 2023. By June 2024 there was still no appointment made. As I wanted to get on with figuring out how to treat my back issues, I went to Surrey for a private MRI at my expense. The MRI showed my back issues as well as a possible issue with my kidneys. An ultrasound was then ordered for which I waited two months and only got in on a cancellation. We need more machines, technicians, and time slots to accommodate our population with much-needed medical tests. Not everyone can afford to pay for a private test. This can really put a strain on the family budget.

In March 2021, a few short months after relocating my mother from Nelson to Nanaimo, she experienced a heart attack. I was living in Colwood at the time. After she was transported to the NRGH and stabilized, it was determined she would require three stents to be installed. I received a call from the hospital notifying me of Mom’s condition. Immediately I planned to jump into my car to drive up to Nanaimo. As we were amid the Covid-19 pandemic I was advised that I would not be able to see her in hospital and that they would need to transport her to Victoria to have a cardiologist there install the stents. It took several hours to prepare Mom for transport and deliver her to Royal Jubilee Hospital. I met the ambulance there and was able to see her briefly before they wheeled her into the cardiac care ward.

One of the main reasons I relocated Mom to Vancouver Island was my concerns regarding the medical care she was able to receive in a smaller and somewhat remote community as she aged. While I was grateful she received the care she needed at the time, it was unfortunate the acute care she needed required a trip over the Malahat while she was in such a vulnerable state. We were fortunate the road conditions at this time of year made the route passable.

I have been waiting for surgery for months. I was diagnosed with stage 4 Endometriosis in July 2018 and had my left ovary removed after discovering a mass growing in my bowel. I had a bowel surgery also and spent 32 days in hospital. In May 2022 I had to have another bowel surgery in Nanaimo and discovered another mass on my right ovary then. Since I have been bounced around waiting for an MRI. I had to have IVF at a cost of $26,000 in November 2023 at the age of 25 to preserve any viable eggs I had left. This pushed my cysts and mass to grow fast into a bow canteloupe-sized mass that needs surgery now. NRGH says they can’t help me. I need surgery and they can’t help me. My family doctor has been trying to find anyone on the island to help me and no one will help. I now have to see the women’s hospital and the wait is long. I am sitting in the ER of NRGH now as I write this and am not sure what to do or how they can help me here as this hospital is my only option being a citizen of Nanaimo. I need help now.

A story of two friends.

Friend one has had hip problems for years. She is 78 years old and until about six months ago was an active hiker, golfer, and gardener. In the fall of 2023, it was recommended she see an Orthopedic surgeon. After months of waiting she got in to see the surgeon on January 31st, 2024. Surgeon confirmed her hip was bone on bone and that she needed a replacement. He told her he had a light wait list as he was new and she would probably get in either May or June for surgery.

Friend two developed hip issues very suddenly in December 2023. She too is 78 years old and very active with several hiking groups. Her decline was more sudden than friend one and she saw a surgeon in February 2024. She was told the wait would be long, so she researched and found a clinic in Calgary that would take her on April 28th for $30,000 plus hotel and airfare. In the meantime, she was also given a surgery date in June of 2024 here in Nanaimo. She was literally unable to walk without a walker so she took the $30,000 route, flew to Calgary, got her surgery, and flew home again two days later, literally pain-free. She is now hiking again in July.

Friend one decided to go the same route and was given a surgery date of June 28th in Calgary. She saw the surgeon in Nanaimo to see if perhaps she could get a surgery date here and she was told it was out of his hands but he scared her into not going to Alberta with the threat of possible complications. She cancelled Calgary thinking she would get into Nanaimo soon. This week (2nd week of July 2024) she was told she is number 28 on the list and that the surgeon does about ten surgeries a month, so that puts her into about October. She greatly regrets canceling the Calgary surgery. She is nearly housebound, barely able to get around, and living in constant pain.

Why did friend two get offered an early surgery date in June and friend one still does not have one, even though she has been on the list longer. This is so unfair. People should not have to live in pain when they have looked after themselves, kept in shape, and done everything they have been told to do. This has to change. There is so much inequity in our medical system and nothing is transparent. There is no communication and people are left in limbo not knowing what to do. This treatment is outrageous! Why is private medicine allowed in Alberta and not in BC?

We have lived in Nanaimo for the last 20 years. Coming from Hamilton, Ont., we were spoiled with the health services we had there with 5 major hospitals & walk-in clinics. When we first arrived, the issue at the time was the emergency dept. It was addressed in a couple of years to be a functioning department for our size population. l understand it is the busiest on the island. The major concern we have is the patient tower. It has been in operation since 1964. It is 60 years old, showing its age & is not adequate for the needs of a growing population such as ours. The people that work there are doing the best they can. In the meantime, we wait to see if they can do anything to the structure. They need to replace the original windows, install shutters on the windows that get the sun all day, and improve the AC on the sixth floor most likely due to being next to the roof. Because of it’s age, there are most likely many other things that can be done as well. Thank you for being a voice for the voice-less.

I am lucky to have a family doctor but he is older and I fear his retirement. There won’t be one to replace him. Last September I had a TIA in Ontario so my initial assessment took place there. When I got back there was a follow-up to do. I still didn’t know the cause of the TIA. It took me till January to see a cardiologist who turned out to be a GP doing cardiology work because we don’t have enough cardiologists in Nanaimo. Then it took me till the beginning of July to get all the tests. I have never sat down with anyone to discuss any strategy other than medication now that I have a potential heart condition. No one has time. When your healthcare providers are working under such stress, you feel you must not bother them unless you have a dire situation. It takes 2-3 weeks to get in to see my GP and if I don’t have a good reason the appointment has to be over the phone.

I am a heart attack survivor from Nanaimo. But it was sheer luck, not science, that allowed me to wait for proper cardiac care that was not available in Nanaimo.
On January 16th, 2009 I suffered a heart attack while attending my weekly aquacise class. I presented with pressure on my sternum, no typical sweating, no shortness of pain, and a brief wave of extreme pain that radiated up into my jaw, and my upper arms through to my upper back. At NRGH my condition was kept stable overnight until I was taken by ambulance to Royal Jubilee in Victoria. To better understand I learned that once a woman has a heart attack, she is at high risk of having another one within the next 24 hours., which can be fatal. At Royal Jubilee, I received proper cardiac care which included an angioplasty to insert three stents into my blocked right coronary artery.
I stayed for follow-up care and observation for three nights, then
returned home to Nanaimo.
A week later I started experiencing the same pressure in the chest which took me back to the ER at NRGH. It was a Friday. I was kept in the hospital until Monday under observation. I was then taken by ambulance back to Royal Jubilee in Victoria. I was taken to the Cath lab where a second angiogram confirmed that the stents were still in place. With a sense of relief, I was discharged and returned to my home in Nanaimo.
To my disappointment, I soon discovered that there was no cardiac rehabilitation available in Nanaimo. There was no cardiologist in Nanaimo. Since then, I have traveled to Royal Jubilee in Victoria for follow-up testing as NRGH does not have the appropriate equipment. I have blood work and yearly appointments with a local internist.
I experienced a “miracle” in 2009 as I survived my first heart attack. Every day I give thanks, but every day I worry about future heart challenges I may experience. All residents on Vancouver Island must have equal access to appropriate cardiac care. We must not rely on luck or miracles, but the proven science.