Woman Seeks Answers For X Ray Delay

Tuesday, January 20, 2009 04:11 AM

Prince George, B.C. - The daughter of a woman who waited for seven days before receiving an X-Ray for a broken leg says she has not yet heard from the Northern Health Authority, Simon Fraser Lodge, or the Doctor involved in the matter.

84 year old Sarah Smith ( shown in photo at right) was a patient at the Simon Fraser Lodge. Her femur bone was broken on December 23^rd of 2008. The following day a Doctor ordered an X-Ray but that did not take place until Dec 30^th. The leg was set on December 31^st.

Sarah Smith's daughter, Diane Cailleaux (who was also Sarah's legal guardian) says she has been asking for a reason why it took so long to have her mother receive an X-Ray, but has been told that she would have to provide a written request. On another occasion she says she was told that the file was no longer at the Simon Fraser Lodge.

"I don’t want my Mum’s medical records," Cailleaux says, "I just want to know why it took seven days to get an X-Ray done."

Sarah Smith passed away on January 2^nd 2009. The family says they do not believe her death was due to the broken leg but they wonder why the woman had to endure the pain of a broken leg for so long.

Mrs Cailleaux says she was told that during some of that wait time, that the X-ray department at Prince George Regional Hospital was not open.

The Simon Fraser Lodge is one block away from the Prince George Regional Hospital and the X-Ray Department.

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Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 04:11 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: metalman on January 20 2009 8:35 AM

Obviously standard of care is the issue for Ms. C. and I respect that. There is no need for a witch hunt and a lynching, but if our elders are not receiving the best of care, WHY NOT?
metalman.

Posted by: DPJ on January 20 2009 8:55 AM

Many 24 hr care for elderly are like third world institutions. Pathetic considering these folks raised the people hired to take care of them. A question comes to my mind. Why raise children if they become selfish brats? Less cable and internet would help.

Posted by: He speaks on January 20 2009 10:45 AM

We are not getting the whole story here. The doctors are tight lipped, the management is tight lipped, Diane is being tight lipped.

Ben, go after them and find out what the real story is.

Posted by: Love PG on January 20 2009 12:47 PM

How sad for this lady. At age 84 she deserves the respect of our hospitals and care facilities. Why would it take so long for an X-ray. Some times there are emergencies and this is one of those emergencies.

Posted by: Love PG on January 20 2009 12:49 PM

Way to go "He Speaks" put Ben on the job and Im sure there will be some answers.

Posted by: opine on January 20 2009 1:54 PM

Stories like this make my blood boil. Now that this lady is deceased the chance of the family ever getting a straight answer is close to zero.

DPJ is bang on except for the word 'many'. "MOST" 24 hours care homes for the elderly and infirm are indeed like a third world country. If I wasn't so angry about the treatment one of our family is subject to in a PG facility I would take the time to tell you all about it - but at this point, my ranting would be too hostile for this forum.

The Simon has gone down hill since parts of it were privatized and it became a 'for profit' enterprise.

I'm all in favor of witch hunts and lynchings when it comes to this subject. No one is being held accountable for the treatment of patrons in these establishments.

Sorry to say this but Ben wouldn't get far on this one - he would have a full time job on his hands....you don't get far taking on the Health Ministry. They have hundreds of these cases on the books and rarely have I seen a firing or charge levied.

...and a final thought...although the family may not believe that the pain from the broken leg influenced her death - I would argue otherwise. A common cold will kill the elderly - what do you think that seven days of pain from a broken bone did for her?

Posted by: Lamb on January 20 2009 7:36 PM

My father died in Simon Fraser in 1978. By the time I got over there to look after my Mother, her watch had been taken and that would be about two hours. Nothing has changed. These places are warehouses for the elderly. There is no respect and no dignity.
Time has come to honour our elders but I can't see it happening.

Posted by: caranmacil on January 21 2009 5:55 PM

Opine you need to read your own post and shake your head. Or maybe seek help. Look up what a witch hunt or a lynching is please. As for 24 hour care homes being like the 3rd world, well aside from using perhaps the most abused cliche of the 21st century your statement has no weight. I say this since i have little faith that you have actually assessed 'most' such facilities (let alone in an unbiased manner).
As for the rest of you all why not wait until Ben tells you what the 'facts' are before you fire one off from the lip? Or perhaps you prefer to debate things you know nothing about? I can read well enough to see that the story has changed from its initial breaking to this version. Maybe there is a lot more to this, maybe not. It certainly wouldnt kill people to wait for some actual facts. The families side of the story, with all due respect does not necessarily represent the objective truth.