A few weeks ago the front page story of the Western News was of a woman who was claiming she got sick at Penticton Regional Hospital twice in as many visits, one year apart.
I don’t understand why this would be your front page story. There is nothing at all to back up her story. Maybe she was disgruntled with hospital staff so she made this up or exaggerated it.
I was in Penticton hospital for surgery on Sept 6, 2012 and I stayed for three days. I was back on Sept. 15 to the ER for an unrelated health issue and pain. I returned on the morning of the 16th for a CT scan. I was back in the ER on the 17th because of pain. I was back on the 19th because of pain, and this time I was kept in overnight and taken to Kelowna the next day for surgery, again, unrelated to the surgery on the 6th.
Aside from the CT scan, I had several needles for IVs as they don’t always go in the vein the first time. That was a lot of time in the hospital, and other than the original surgery and the pain I didn’t get sick. I was treated very professionally at Penticton Hospital every time and I didn’t see any cause for alarm due to uncleanliness. My trip to Kelowna is another story but that isn’t why I am writing.
Why didn’t the woman go to the hospital administration and express her concerns to them? I know that the Western News publishes many positive stories, I just wish you had investigated this a little further before making it front page news.
Heather Jackson
Okanagan Falls