ChilliwackB次元官网网址檚 mayor has met with the health minister and the head of Fraser Health after two homeless people were discharged from Surrey Memorial Hospital and sent by taxi to a shelter in Chilliwack, despite still needing medical care.
Ken Popove said he met with Minister Adrian Dix and Fraser Health CEO Dr. Victoria Lee last weekend in Vancouver, in the wake of his scathing letter to the health authority about two incidents that happened in February.
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B次元官网网址淚 went there to talk about our communityB次元官网网址檚 struggles to take care of vulnerable people who show up in Chilliwack,B次元官网网址 Popove told Black Press Media. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not that I am without compassion or empathy for their struggles, but I had to suggest that perhaps we have more than our fair share of homeless people.B次元官网网址
Last month, a 76-year-old woman with mobility issues and severe incontinence was sent via taxi to the Chilliwack Salvation Army after she was discharged from Surrey Memorial. A man in a wheelchair with open wounds on his feet arrived a few weeks later after being released from the same place. The shelter couldnB次元官网网址檛 accommodate either.
Popove said he may have B次元官网网址渞uffled some feathersB次元官网网址 during the meeting.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a breakdown in the system if people like this are falling through the cracks,B次元官网网址 he said. B次元官网网址淏ut overall, it was a very positive meeting.B次元官网网址
He went on to say health officials need to fully provide details to shelter workers when a patient needs a bed.
B次元官网网址淭hey are supposed to send the patientB次元官网网址檚 file ahead of time so the shelters know what they are signing up for,B次元官网网址 he said. B次元官网网址淪helter workers are not trained health professionals, and cannot provide medical care.B次元官网网址
He said he learned Chilliwack General Hospital discharges the largest number of people with no fixed address. Dix said he would look into it and consider a refresher on the discharge policy.
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