A New Brunswick man is recovering from a serious infection, after what he and his wife allege was inadequate post-operative care in hospital that they’re equating to “third world health care.”
Lloyd Fitzgerald, 83, underwent prostate surgery on June 25 at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton. Although the surgery went well, he alleges he was discharged too soon and without proper care.
His wife, Evelyn Paquin, says the hospital told her that her husband was to be released “shortly after his surgery.” However, the couple had some concerns — primarily that Fitzgerald’s catheter would have to be removed at home — and he was allowed to stay for one more night.
But they allege he wasn’t given the antibiotics his doctor had prescribed, and he felt cold and sick when he left the hospital.
“It was like plus 30 (degrees) outside and it was like going outside in the middle of winter without a coat,” explained Fitzgerald. “I couldn’t get warm, even in the car, I was still shaking.”
Paquin says they began their drive home to Shediac, N.B., but had to pull over on the side of the road near Petitcodiac when Fitzgerald began convulsing and vomiting.
Get weekly health news
“All of a sudden, he just slumped over on top of me. His eyes were rolled back and back of his head and he was just vibrating, just shaking,” she said.
“So I didn’t know what was going on. So I grabbed the wheel. It’s like, ‘Oh my God, Lloyd, Lloyd!'”
She ended up calling 911, and Fitzgerald was taken by ambulance to the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital in Moncton, where he was given intravenous antibiotics to treat an infection.
“The doctor’s like, ‘Your husband’s very ill, and we need to hospitalize him, and we need to get the infection under control,'” Paquin recalled.
The couple has since filed a complaint with Horizon Health’s patient advocate services over his post-operative care at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital.
The complaint also alleges the bathrooms weren’t clean, and claims the lack of antibiotics led to his infection. The complaint also details Paquin’s concerns over being asked to remove Fitzgerald’s catheter.
She says she doesn’t have medical training and simply didn’t feel prepared or knowledgeable enough to do it.
“The one thing that I think is fairly barbaric is that Horizon expects patients to go home with a catheter and to remove that themselves. And I think that’s just not acceptable. To me, that’s like third world health care,” said Paquin.
“I think we deserve better. And I also think that the information that they provided us was just not sufficient.”
David Arbeau, the executive director for Horizon Health Network’s Fredericton and Upper River Valley area, told Global News in a statement that the health authority could not comment on specific patient cases.
“(We) encourage anyone to contact us through a patient representative to help improve health care experiences. This service reflects Horizon’s commitment to patient and family-centred care, and enables us to be more responsive to patients’ concerns and questions,” he added.
Paquin says a Horizon Health representative did call her to discuss options for patients — including catheter removal — but that she is still seeking further answers about the experience.
“I would really like to see some changes at the at the upper level of the people who develop these procedures and policies,” she said. “There should be a review.”