The family of a South Surrey senior who died waiting for hospice care is sharing his story in the hopes of saving other families with vulnerable loved ones from experiencing what they describe as \u201cdeeply dismissive\u201d end-of-life treatment.<\/p>\n
Donald Reagh was diagnosed with terminal cancer in late June, at the age of 91, after low-grade cancer he\u2019d had for some two decades ago metastasized to his hip. While hospice care was recommended by his GP, it was a placement that never materialized \u2013 despite determined efforts by his wife of 68 years, Donna, and son, Barry, to secure him that level of dignity.<\/p>\n
Instead, \u201che died alone \u2026 in a long-term care facility never designed for active end-of-life care,\u201d said Barry.<\/p>\n
It was \u201cinconsistent with the best care for my father during his last days on this planet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fraser Health officials confirmed in late August that the authority\u2019s Patient Care Quality Office \u201care working to support the family.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an emailed statement, they extended \u201cour heartfelt condolences,\u201d but did not speak to the family\u2019s specific concerns \u2013 which include \u201cdelay, deflection and disregard\u201d \u2013 saying the health authority\u2019s care teams in long-term care communities \u201cwork closely with residents and their families to support them in accessing and provide compassionate, quality end-of-life care throughout every step of their journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur care teams ensure people are physically, emotionally and spiritually comfortable in the later stages of their lives with a palliative approach to care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barry disagrees, describing a rollercoaster of frustration and failures. <\/p>\n
At the time of his father\u2019s diagnosis, Donald Reagh was a temporary resident of a White Rock care home; a placement Barry says a Fraser Health contract guaranteed would continue until a bed became available at one of three preferred long-term care facilities identified by his family.<\/p>\n
The family\u2019s nightmare began that same month, he continued, describing alarming news of an apparent attempt to force his father out of the care bed he\u2019d occupied since late February, contrary to the Fraser Health contract.<\/p>\n
Facility staff \u201ctook everything off his walls and was going to put him in a taxi,\u201d Barry charged, noting the steps followed word his mom received of a 24-hour window that she had to move his dad to a Langley care home.<\/p>\n
Barry alleged the situation was the result of care-home officials \u201ctrying to get rid of everybody that\u2019s subsidized\u201d in order to make space for private-pay residents. (The care home is not currently among four White Rock facilities on Fraser Health\u2019s list of long-term care service providers.)<\/p>\n
It took the threat of legal action to stop his father\u2019s transfer, Barry told PAN, explaining the blunt measure was recommended after care-facility management insisted his mom had signed an agreement that allowed the transfer, but then refused to produce a copy of it.<\/p>\n
All of this was unfolding as the family continued to process the reality of not knowing how much time they had left with their loved one. At the time of his diagnosis, the patriarch was given anywhere from a few weeks to six months to live.<\/p>\n
After the senior went to Peace Arch Hospital following a fall from his care bed, Barry said he fought against having his father returned to a care home \u201cwhere the owners don\u2019t want him,\u201d referring to the White Rock facility. Unable to care for himself, the senior needed to be in a hospice or stay at the hospital, he said.<\/p>\n
Though assured by palliative-care officials that his father \u201cundoubtedly\u201d deserved the end-of-life care a hospice provides, and was on an \u201cexpedited transfer arrangement\u201d for a hospice bed, the push to return Reagh to the care home continued \u2013 and ultimately was carried out the day after Barry returned home to Arizona, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was told \u2026 that he would not be going back. The day after I left town, they sent him back.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a \u201ccompletely unacceptable\u201d move that his family should \u201cabsolutely not\u201d have had to deal with, he added.<\/p>\n
Transferred to a South Surrey care facility in July, the family waited for a \u201crequired\u201d meeting with Fraser Health\u2019s palliative care team and approval for the hospice transition. Barry noted he confirmed for himself that beds were available at the Melville Hospice Home at the time, however, with access to these beds controlled by the health authority, he could not arrange the transfer himself.<\/p>\n
He said Fraser Health officials told him hospice was \u201ctoo expensive,\u201d even though Reagh would have been contributing 80 per cent of his pension \u2013 around $3,500 per month \u2013 to the tab.<\/p>\n
By Aug. 1, with the senior still not on the waiting list for hospice care, Barry said he knew \u201cwithout a doubt, he will pass away without ever receiving the end of life care he deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n
He died at 2 p.m. Aug. 4.<\/p>\n
Barry said Sept. 28 that the memory of his father\u2019s final months continues to weigh heavily, and that the family has yet to receive any meaningful accountability from Fraser Health. After his father was transferred to the South Surrey facility, he was asked not to contact them again, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat response was\u2026 deeply dismissive of the care failures that initially denied then obstructed and ultimately refused his transfer to a certified hospice facility,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He described the road his family travelled as one that \u201cremains an ongoing problem for many families in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not one family\u2019s private grief,\u201d he continued. \u201cIt is a public failure that every resident of this province has a stake in ending. I\u2019m advocating for the survivors or the remaining elderly people. Of course we\u2019re all going to die, but we should die with some dignity and comfort.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just appalling to think that his last days were misery for him. If (sharing the story) helps somebody else not have them go through that, at least there\u2019s some light at the end of the tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n
As of Oct. 5, Fraser Health had not addressed PAN\u2019s questions regarding care-facility contracts and the authority\u2019s hospice-care process.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur PCQO team remains available to help answer any questions they may have about their loved one\u2019s care,\u201d the emailed statement concludes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The family of a South Surrey senior who died waiting for hospice care is sharing his story in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":922359,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":["post-922358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=922358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/922359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=922358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=922358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=922358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}