Mrs. Darlene Rozon December 21, 2011

To Whom It May Concern:

I have a major concern about the cleanliness and inefficiencies of the Humber River Hospital at 2115 Finch Ave, Toronto. I was there December 2nd through the 5th for gastric bypass surgery and then again December 7th through the 12th for a stomach infection.

During the time I was in this hospital I never witnessed anyone washing the floors in either of the rooms I stayed in. The showers had soap sticking to the floors and even after I asked for the showers to be cleaned the soap still remained.

I hesitated to go to the bathroom until someone cleaned it since there were four people in the room as well as the visitors that used it carrying germs on their clothes and shoes and I could see the black stains on the floors and the rooms were very dirty in my opinion. Never once did I see anyone cleaning the bathrooms in either of the rooms I stayed in.

Just before leaving I witnessed an older woman that went to the washroom that urinated on the floors and the wall. A woman came to clean up after her but only put a towel over it and mopped it up without using any disinfectant. I had to go in and insisted that the washroom be disinfected but nothing was done.

I also witnessed a machine in the hallways going over dirt and stains on the floor and it looked like it was just smearing it around but not cleaning it up. I wiped a cloth over the floor just to see and it came up just black with the dirt from the floor. I went into a small room with refrigerators and microwaves to get some hot water for tea and there was dirt and grime all over the floor, under the fridges, and when I looked inside the fridge it looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in months.

Someone should be inspecting the hospital on a regular basis to make sure they pass the finger test. Even when I came home my white slippers were sickening black on the bottom. After witnessing all of these events I wasn’t surprised at getting an infection. I’ve seen grocery stores cleaner than this hospital and that just shouldn’t be the case.

Upon returning to the hospital on December 7th, I had to wait an incredibly long time to get seen, from 12 noon until 8pm in the evening, and I was suffering in pain all this time and then told I would be seen but there were no beds available and that I would have to sleep in the hallway just off the emergency entrance. But I could see there were four other beds made up which I took a picture of.

I just couldn’t believe what I was going through with no sleep for two days and on morphine for pain and taking x-rays and a cat scan. They discovered I had a sac and they were looking into how to treat it. I met a surgeon, Dr. Swan and he spoke with Dr. Sohi, my surgeon, and Dr. Glazer and determined to treat it with antibiotics and keep me on it until the following Sunday so I would be staying the weekend in this dirty hospital and I was worried I would be struggling for a long time.

I had nurses that were very loud and refused to let people sleep and when the shift change came it was like a herd of elephants coming in and making lots of noise until the early hours of the night. No one in my room was having an easy time of their stay either. I took phone numbers of these other people. We had to constantly shut the door because of the noise and turn the lights off because they would wake everyone up instead of using a flashlight in the night. I had to specifically ask them to use the little lights over the individual beds instead. I was met with hostility several times just for asking for an ice pack or a hot pack so I just went to get my own and ended up helping others with warming up their hot packs at the same time as I did mine.

I did go to the managers office before I left the hospital and submitted a complaint and she said she would make a note of it and took my phone number but I still haven’t received a phone call.

I was suffering in pain from infection and was not even given Tylenol low strength and was informed by the doctor I would be given a prescription for Tylenol 3, but when I went to the pharmacy they gave me the wrong dose. I paid $23.00 for the incorrect prescription and then had to call and wait, in pain, to get the prescription corrected. I had to go back the next day since I was told not to bring I.D. or credit cards, and then they wouldn’t take back and give me a refund for the wrong medication. I also had to buy blood thinners that cost $200 but then didn’t need them since I came back for the infection and was given the meds then. They also refused to refund the money for these even though they were not opened. I don’t have money to throw around and I think I should be refunded the money for these unnecessary medications that were not my mistake and not covered by my drug plan.

I am on low income ODSP with many health issues and have a very limited income every month. I am trying to continue my education and retrain so I can work again but every penny lost puts me more in poverty and it is not fair to not be compensated for this mistake. It shouldn’t be a big deal to admit an error and correct it.

I hope to bring attention to these serious problems in this hospital and receive an immediate reply. I will also be forwarding this letter to other ministries involved in making positive changes in Canada.

Sincerely,

__________________
Ms. Darlene Rozon

cc. Health Department, MP of Toronto, Mayor of Toronto, Dr. Shoi, Dr. Glazer, Dr. Shaw, Head of the Humber River Hospital

Page 2 of 2