Jack Hintz, 85, died on Feb. 22 -- a day after Medicine Hat physician Dr. Alison Cameron requested that he be transferred to Calgary for hip surgery. Doctors considered it a high-risk procedure because Hintz had also suffered a heart attack.
Doreen Miskiw, Hintz's daughter, said it shouldn't have mattered which province they were from. She noted that the health care system should have ensured that would be given the best medical care possible, anywhere in Canada.
But Calgary Health Region on Wednesday defended its decision to deny the transfer of the frail Saskatchewan patient to one of its hospitals for specialized care, saying there was no discrimination. The hospital was simply too full.
On Feb. 21, Hintz fell and broke his hip at his home in the small Saskatchewan town. He was taken to the regional hospital in Medicine Hat, Alta., about 160 kilometers southwest of Leader.There, doctors realized Hintz had also suffered a heart attack. They decided transferring him to a specialist at a larger facility in Calgary would provide the best prognosis, considering his high-risk condition.
Dr. Alison Cameron, a general practitioner in Medicine Hat, said she found a hospital bed and a surgeon who agreed to treat Hintz, but as she was arranging an air ambulance for the 280 kilometer trip southeast, the Calgary Health Region said it couldn't take Hintz because he was from Saskatchewan.
Calgary Health Officials explained that what it meant was that Hintz should be sent to a hospital in Saskatchewan because it was "the most efficient way for the patient to receive the fastest possible medical treatment."
Calgary said it could not safely accept any patient transfers because its three adult hospitals were over capacity, with long waits in the emergency departments and a high number of patients already waiting for hospital beds.
