Complaint filed after surgery at Grace cancelled

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This article was published 27/12/2022 (728 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Thompson man who flew to Winnipeg for a hip replacement, only to have his surgery cancelled at the last minute, has filed a complaint and is still waiting for his procedure to be rescheduled.

Leon Gillis, 59, was supposed to have surgery Dec. 6, but his operation was cancelled a few hours after he arrived at the hospital.

It was one of seven surgeries cancelled that day because of “capacity issues” at the Grace, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority has stated.

Gillis is still waiting for his surgeon’s office to reschedule the procedure, after being told he’d have to wait until January or February, unless there is a cancellation.

Last week, Gillis’s wife Ellen Dale contacted patient relations at Grace Hospital and WRHA to log a complaint about her husband’s cancellation.

The patient-relations staff member “heard my concerns” but ultimately responded that “surgeries get cancelled,” Dale said Tuesday.

Dale suggested to staff that patients who suffer same-day surgery cancellations should be put in contact with patient relations as a matter of protocol, so they’re not left hanging. Her suggestion was taken, Dale said, but the couple still has not heard back about a new surgery date.

Dale wrote to Health Minister Audrey Gordon last week detailing Gillis’s experience, and said she has not yet received a response.

The couple estimates they have lost roughly $3,000 in travel expenses and lost wages because of the cancelled surgery.

On Tuesday, Dale said they have waited long enough. Gillis, a mine worker and former hockey player, is 6-3 and weighs 161 pounds. The potent painkillers he needs to get short-term relief from constant aches caused by arthritis and “bone-on-bone” contact in his hip will have serious long-term effects. Dale said Gillis has lost a lot of weight because the pain has sapped his appetite.

“My huge concern is his weight. He is diabetic, aboriginal and the anti-inflammatories and pain killers that he has taken for too long at this point are so unhealthy! These drugs are eating away at his kidneys and liver,” she said.

“We have been polite and patient enough!”

Each month, approximately 200 patients have their elective surgeries cancelled on the day in which they are scheduled. Of about 3,600 scheduled surgeries

In November, 6.5 per cent of the 3,600 surgeries were postponed. In October, seven per cent of scheduled surgeries were postponed, and in September, 5.9 per cent, the WRHA said.

The figures don’t include surgeries scheduled at Health Sciences Centre, Misericordia, St. Boniface obstetrics, or surgeries conducted in endoscopy suites or procedure rooms.

“We encourage patients or their loved ones to contact the appropriate patient relations office if they haven’t already to discuss their concerns directly with care teams.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s client relations team can be reached at 204-926-7825 or clientrelations@wrha.mb.ca,” a WRHA spokesperson stated last week in response to Free Press questions about Gillis’s case.

katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com