Editor:
After reading Dawn Diamond’s letter (“Hospital deserves medal,” March 9) I would like to add my wholehearted endorsement to what she said; although, perhaps a more apt title should be “Hospital STAFF deserves medal.” Having just spent five days in emergency at Sechelt Hospital, I also saw how all the staff (nurses, admin, cleaners, doctors) went that extra mile to help each patient through their ailments and discomfort. Their compassion, patience and dedication were inspiring to witness and the small things they did almost counted for more. Thanks to all of you.
Perhaps important to highlight is that I am referring to those in the emergency section. As the main hospital had no beds, many of the patients were there waiting for rooms, some for more than seven days. In fact, on March 12, at one time there were 14 patients and 12 beds available and our wonderful staff were almost tripping over each other to attend to the incoming emergencies and the established patients.
That our hospital does not have bed capacity and resorts to the emergency section to house patients is of concern. Many of us were doubled up in ER rooms designed for one patient. Whilst inconvenient, we gratefully accepted a bed, but there is a danger. Staff had to manoeuvre around a restricted space to tend to patients, emergency call buttons were not easy to reach, and lack of storage space meant patient personal debris cluttered potential working spaces.
If there is any plan to increase the size of our hospital to cater for this rapidly growing community, it would be good to know. If not?
David Minson, Halfmoon Bay
