Right to Information request reveals four years of patient and family concerns
The Upper River Valley Hospital in Waterville has received 157 complaints about the delivery of health care at the facility in the past four years.
Under a Right to Information Request (RTI) filed by the River Valley Sun, Horizon Health Network released its record of complaints about URVH from 2020 to 2024.
There were 37 complaints about the hospital emergency department between 2020 and 2022. Within that number, 24 pointed to problems with quality of care or wait time. Eight complaints were about the behaviour and attitude of staff, including medical and nursing staff.
Three complaints were about hospital policy on visitation and wearing masks during the pandemic. There was one complaint about communication and confidentiality, while one patient visiting emergency was critical about their expectations not being met.
Horizon Health records indicate all of the complaints were handled internally by the head of the emergency department, an attending physician, a nurse manager, an executive and administrative director or a facility manager.
Another 13 complaints were filed between 2020 and 2022 about various other departments in the hospital, again mostly about quality of care and staff behaviour and attitude.
“Feedback and concerns are addressed on an individual basis and assigned to different levels of leadership, depending on the patient/families’ expectations,” said Janice Melanson, access to information coordinator for Horizon Health. “In all cases, the manager or the administrative director, or the chief of staff is made aware.”
Melanson explained that several actions can be taken to resolve a complaint, including interviewing the staff member involved, reviewing documentation, peer evaluation, mentoring, staff education, and ongoing monitoring of care.
“Changes resulting from concerns or feedback are dependent on each case and each department. Each case gives Horizon an opportunity to serve future patients and families better and provide conciliatory closure with previous patients and families through transparent communications.”
Laura Russell of Canterbury disagrees. She has been waiting nine months for her concerns about URVH to be resolved and says communication with healthcare officials has been less than transparent.
After the death of her loved one at URVH in April of 2024, she confronted hospital staff, wrote letters, and contacted the provincial Department of Health to request a review of medical care being delivered in Waterville.
In August, Russell met with a patient advocate with Horizon Health in Fredericton to discuss her concerns but received no reply despite her follow-up calls and emails.
In October, Russell wrote to Margaret Melanson, the president and chief executive officer for Horizon Health, again with no reply. She noted Melanson was the patient advocate she met with in August.
“There are questions to be answered and issues to be addressed about the delivery of healthcare in Waterville,” Russell said. “I have been unable to get any answers.”
Most of all, Russell wants to see the results of a CAT scan given to her loved one, whom she was told had terminal cancer. She acknowledged she was not named next-of-kin on his medical file, but she had written consent from the next-of-kin to be informed.
Records show that between 2022 and 2024, URVH received 107 complaints, 62 of which concerned the emergency department. Again, the majority of complaints centred around quality of care, wait times, and staff behaviour and attitude. The information indicates that most cases were resolved.
Russell said her family member was a patient in the emergency department before being moved upstairs to medical/surgical/palliative care and then to the alternative level of care (ALC) unit for seniors, where he died.
The records from URVH indicate that 11 complaints were filed about medical, surgical, and palliative care on 2 East (floor) in the past two years.
Five complaints were filed about the ALC unit on 2 North (floor) within the same period. One complaint referred to patient/family expectations. However, the outcome section is left blank.
Russell said she had no knowledge about whether her complaint was officially filed with Horizon Health, but she was not surprised by the total number of complaints received about URVH.
“I’m surprised the numbers are not a lot higher,” said Russell. “There are lots of things that don’t get reported. To me, quality of care does not exist at that hospital.”
Within the RTI package from Horizon Health, information was also provided about various hospital policies, including the management of patient and family feedback and concerns.
This policy states there is an “escalation process” for patients and families who are not satisfied with the investigation of their complaint, noting they can go to the Ombud NB or the NB Seniors Advocate for further assistance with their case.
Horizon Health also shared policies on patient safety and “harmful incidents,” which outline definitions for an apology from a hospital and the disclosure of information by healthcare providers.
The policy on patient safety states: “employees, medical staff, students and volunteers are accountable to ensure patients and families are partners in care leading to improved health, quality of life and well-being.”