WING’S
Hockey’s back
RESTAURANT
Catch up on all the local action in our annual look at hockey in the Capital Region Pages A15-18
VICTORIANEWS Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Proudly serving Esquimalt & Victoria
Chinese Cuisine Take Out, Eat In, and Delivery Open from 11 am - 10 pm Daily 90 Gorge Rd. W
250-385-5564 www.vicnews.com
Something to celebrate
Junior riders (kids who have experienced cancer) join the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock 2013 team onstage at Centennial Square Friday afternoon in the finale to this year’s tour, which raised more than $1.2 million. For more on Tour de Rock, please turn to page A5. Don Denton/News staff
Island Health tops complaints in B.C. More than 1,100 grievances recorded against health authority last year
Daniel Palmer Reporting
Island Health garnered more complaints than any other health authority in B.C. last year, but officials say it’s simply a sign the process is working. The Patient Care Quality Review Board received 1,122 complaints about Island Health (formerly Vancouver Island Health Authority) in the past year, however only 12 of those complaints were accepted for review by the board. The highest number of complaints related to
patient care concerns. But the higher incidents are nothing to be ashamed of, said spokeswoman Sarah Plank. Rather, it’s a sign health officials are following proper reporting procedures, she said. “If someone is not able to resolve a concern with the care team directly, we would strongly encourage them to contact our Patient Care Quality Office. We actively promote this throughout the health authority.” Complaints are logged, allowing Island Health to keep better track of patient concerns, she said. Kelly Bradley, whose daughter was discharged prematurely after requiring emergency mental health services at Victoria General Hospital
last January, was glad to see several recommendations in the board’s report. They include an assurance that emergency room doctors keep patients for observation or therapy before discharging them when necessary, and that acute care patients receive adequate follow-up from doctors. “(The Patient Care Quality Review Board) were the first people we contacted,” Bradley said. “I think this is a positive thing. We didn’t even have the emergency room doctor talk to us the last few times we went to the hospital. … I just hope other families won’t have to experience what we’ve experienced now.” Plank pointed out over 99 per cent of the complaints were
Less than a dollar a day. It’s all included. Esquimalt Recreation Annual Pass: accessible. affordable.
Weight Room & Swimming Pool open 17 hours per day: 5:30am-10:30pm. Weight Room & Swimming Pool open 365 days a year. 40 Fitness Classes per week. Admission to skating & drop in sports.
www.esquimalt.ca or 250-412-8500 for details.
resolved at the local level, while eight recommendations, including those that stemmed from Bradley’s complaint, have all been addressed. “This is out of well over 500,000 patient encounters in just our hospitals alone last year, and thousands more through our community and residential services,” Plank said. In comparison, Fraser Health, which administers Lower Mainland health care, received 1,008 complaints and Vancouver Coastal Health received 943 complaints. To learn more about the patient care quality review board, visit patientcarequalityreviewboard.ca or call 1-866-236-5544. dpalmer@vicnews.com