A shortage of doctors at a Vancouver Island hospital forced an elderly man with a terminal cancer diagnosis to wait more than a day for follow-up care, according to his family.
And one physician says the lack of hospitalists is delaying care for many patients at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH), though the health authority says critical care access is not being impacted.
An ambulance took Drew Smith’s 88-year-old father, Bill, to NRGH on Wednesday
Bill Smith was admitted to the emergency ward and seen by an ER physician, who decided he should stay for ongoing care for a terminal cancer diagnosis, according to Drew.
However, there was no hospital doctor
