Family says father’s pancreatic cancer led to ‘terrible, terrible’ ordeal of misdiagnoses, unavailable hospice care
NationalPost.com
July 23, 2014
Alex Jivov
Cheryl Britt has spent the last eight months travelling between two different hospitals, suffering through multiple misdiagnoses and denials for hospice care, all in an effort to get her 84-year old father treatment for his pancreatic cancer.
“Its so sad whats happening in the world,” said Britt over the phone Wednesday morning. “I’ve lived in Thornhill 28 years, I’m a taxpayer, and because my hospital can’t diagnose you, you suffer.”
Cheryl’s father, Jack Khezman, first became sick in December 2013, and was originally taken to North York General Hospital. After determining he had a blockage in his pancreas, doctors performed an operation to relieve it, believing it to be simply a result of his age.
He was released the next day, but had to be taken back soon after when the blockage reappeared. This process repeated itself until July, until Cheryl had her father moved to Toronto General Hospital after four misdiagnoses.
North York General declined to comment on the specific’s of Mr. Khezman’s case, citing privacy issues.
“We take patient complaints extremely seriously,” said Courtney Sorger of North York Patient Relations. “We encourage Mr. Khezman and his family to get in contact with the hospital.”
After a new round of tests, doctors put in a stint in order to stop the blockages completely, but by that time he was too weak to even eat properly.
“He wasn’t the old kind of 84,” said Britt, her voice faltering. “He would always be running up and down the stairs in the house, doing things all the time. He had some much energy.”
“Now he’s dying.”
After more tests, doctors discovered the blockages were being caused by pancreatic cancer, and recommended Cheryl find a long-term care facility for her father.
But when Cheryl approached the two hospice facilities available to her, Mackenzie Health and Hill House, both facilities said they could not take her father.
Mackenzie Health, formerly York Central Hospital and the larger of the two care centres, told Cheryl that they would only admit patients from their own own hospital, but would put Cheryl’s father on the waiting list.
“They literally said we take from our own health centre,” said Britt. “I was told that while he’s been put on the waiting list, they are prioritizing people who are actually from Mackenzie Health.”
“He’s fifth [on the waiting list], but he’s never going to make it there.”
‘Why should we suffer because the hospitals are incompetent? We are an aging populating and this just is not fair’
“It is my understanding that Ms. Brit recently visited our Palliative Care Unit and at that time there were beds available. Since that time other palliative patients were accepted and the unit is now currently full,” said Melina Cormier, Chief of Communications and Public Affairs with Mackenzie Health in an emailed statement Wednesday afternoon.
“This information was shared with Ms. Brit. While we understand and empathize with the family’s desire to have their family member cared for in a hospital close to home, the very nature of palliative care makes it unpredictable in terms of the demands for this type of care.”
“Mackenzie Health’s policy is to accept palliative patients from both within the hospital and from our community. There is no priority given to either group,” said Cormier.
Mackenzie Health has 14 beds available for hospice patients, while Hill House, the second facility Cheryl tried, has 3. Jack Khezman has still not been found a hospice facility, eight months since his ordeal began.
On Monday, July 22nd, Cheryl decided to take the issue public.
“I went to patient relations [at Mackenzie Health] and I said ‘this is a terrible, terrible thing you do to people, and I’m calling the newspapers,” Britt said. “What makes me really angry that is people in Thornhill just don’t have care.”
“Why should we suffer because the hospitals are incompetent? We are an aging populating and this just is not fair.”
