Diabetic man waits hours for food at Halifax hospital, wife speaks out
Global News
A Halifax-area woman is frustrated after her diabetic husband missed a meal during a stay at the Victoria General Hospital, and had another meal arrive several hours late.
Lori Furber wants to see some accountability after her husband missed a meal and had another hours late during a stay at the Victoria General Hospital in Halifax.
Furber said her husband, 58-year-old Gary Little, is recovering in hospital after getting surgery for lung cancer. Patients are supposed to receive three meals a day – but on Thursday, his breakfast never arrived.
“The hospital hadn’t provided him food since about 6:30 or 7 from his dinner tray the night before,” said Furber, who is from the Sackville area. “We all know our health-care system is in crisis, but this should not happen.”
She said during his stay, food has arrived late before, but this was the first time the hospital missed a meal altogether. She noted her husband is diabetic, and needs food to take his medication.
Furber said during the wait for breakfast, she spoke with a nurse who said “several” patients had yet to get their trays because of “dietary staffing issues.”
“I really have no idea if ‘several’ is 50, or if several is 200,” she said.
She said she ended up getting her husband some food to tide him over until lunch, which didn’t arrive until 3 p.m.
“It hurts me to my core to know that had I not been here, my husband would have been hungry all day long,” she said.
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