medical, logistical, financial and mental struggles<\/a>\u00a0during the lead-up to surgery.<\/p>\n‘It was really valuable to bring it to the headlines’<\/p>\n
Even though this complex double-organ surgery hasn’t been performed in this province in about a decade, there hasn’t been a formal procedure in place for Nova Scotian physicians to refer patients to Toronto for the surgery.<\/p>\n
The supply of pancreas organs is scarce, and only five patients in the last two years have gone to Toronto for kidney and pancreas surgery, according to a statement from Nova Scotia Health.<\/p>\n
Dr. George Worthen, a nephrologist and the medical lead of the kidney transplant program in Halifax, called Provo-Benoit\u2019s experience \u201ca bit clunky\u201d and noted gaps in care can happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was really valuable to bring it to the headlines,\u201d said Worthen.<\/p>\n
![\"Doctor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766143809_973_default.jpg\")
Dr. George Worthen is a nephrologist and medical lead of the kidney transplant program in Halifax. (Dave Laughlin\/CBC)<\/p>\n
The challenges Provo-Benoit navigated himself included having to source and connect to the transplant program, paying on his own dime for a trip to Toronto to be assessed, and discovering blood collection workers in Nova Scotia were baffled by his Ontario blood requisition forms.<\/p>\n
Worthen said he’s addressing the \u201clack of standard operating procedures\u201d by creating a \u201cstreamlined process\u201d for referring patients for kidney and pancreas surgery in Toronto, one that includes using Nova Scotia blood requisition forms. The goal is to eliminate the potential for error or delay in patient care that can happen when two different provincial health-care systems are at work.<\/p>\n
Worthen said Provo-Benoit should have a smoother path now that there’s “a team locally that’s looking at things closely to make sure that tests and investigations don’t fall through the cracks.”<\/p>\n
The new process is already benefiting a Nova Scotian patient who won’t be going it solo \u2014 they\u2019ll have a doctor managing the pre-surgical workup, Worthen said.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust in the last week or two we had our first physician-initiated referral sent to the kidney pancreas program in Toronto.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrea Norgate, a registered nurse and clinical co-ordinator of the Ajmera Transplant Centre, said in spite of the bumps Provo-Benoit has faced, he\u2019s exactly where he should be on the waitlist \u2014 he\u2019s next in line.<\/p>\n
‘I’m elated with this’<\/p>\n
Provo-Benoit has been on the list since February. He said surgery can\u2019t come soon enough as he looks forward to a life free from the burden of dialysis, making a long-awaited reunion with his daughters in Winnipeg possible.<\/p>\n
![\"Samuel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766143810_981_default.jpg\")
This photo was taken in 2023, the last time Samuel Provo-Benoit saw his twin daughters, Amiyah, left, and Sierra. (Meghan Downey\/MNEO Designs)<\/p>\n
He said knowing that his voice has inspired an improvement in patient care for fellow Nova Scotians is a gift.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m elated with this,\u201d said Provo-Benoit. “So even if I don\u2019t get the call for Christmas, I\u2019m still grateful that I\u2019m being a part of such a major change in the health-care system.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n