Our health care system is in serious need of some work. Just ask Scott Pauloski.
Scott's father Bob suffered a serious head injury while working as a pipe fitter in 2004. He was treated in hospital in Edmonton, and all the while his son Scott was fighting to have Bob moved closer to the Coast so he could be with family while recovering. After seven months of calls, visits and back-and-forth paperwork, Bob was finally transferred to the Sunshine Coast. This is where the story gets even more tragic.
Because of negligent treatment before arriving on the Coast, a deep bedsore developed on Bob's back. After getting treatment by a local doctor, Scott learned Bob needed a special antipressure bed. Next came the fight over the bed and who was going to pay for it.
You would think it would be the Workers' Compensation Board, now WorkSafe BC (WSBC). After all, Bob was injured on the job. But WSBC fought Scott and his family tooth and nail. Scott finally decided to just fork out the $6,000 and get his father the bed.
WSBC then decided to go after Totem Lodge for the payment and withheld a month's rent from them. Scott then found out this bed would stay at Totem Lodge when the family moved Bob to the new Christenson Village. So, Scott bought the bed for a second time and again went after WSBC for reimbursement.
WSBC now says they think they will be able to handle the case, but they need to see another doctor's assessment and more documentation just to be sure. Be sure of what?
Has this family not gone through enough? How many bureaucratic hoops must they jump through?
We tried to shed some light on the issue from WSBC's perspective this week in our story on page A7. After six phone calls, someone finally called us back but said they needed written permission from the family to talk to us, and they needed at least a day to prepare before they could answer our questions.
This situation is appalling. The health care system and the government programs supposedly in place to help people, such as WSBC, have failed miserably.
