DOCTORS ARE BURYING THEIR MISTAKES

DOCTORS ARE BURYING THEIR MISTAKES !

I have a shocking story to tell about what happened to me, a patient, at The Jewish General Hospital in Montreal.

Early in the morning of April 1st, 2009, in the emergency department of the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, Dr. Jerome Stasiak, emergency room doctor, came to me and, without a word of warning, he grabbed me by my arm and my hand and started running around the emergency department dragging me along with him like a bag of garbage.

He kept running, dragging me along in spite of my pleas to let me go and in spite of the fact that I was stumbling and hanging by my arm. Dr. Stasiak did this run three times around the emergency department, pulling me - stopping only to have a nurse test my oxygenation and then hauling me off again, dragging me almost on my knees.

After the third time, Dr. Stasiak dismissed me saying there was nothing wrong with me. Then he ordered me to get dressed and he told me that I must get in a wheelchair and I would be pushed out to a taxi right away.

All this humiliating, frightening brutality was done in the presence of dozens of patients, nurses, doctors and staff. No one protested. Some seemed amused. Even Dr. Alex Guttman whom I have known for decades did nothing to stop him. It was bizarre, a nightmare ! I was so sick.

I refused to get into a wheelchair. I dressed and managed with great difficulty to make my way to the Oncology. Department. My oncologist, Dr. Francois Patenaude, immediately ordered tests and found that my blood calcium was dangerously high and I was so dehydrated that I was on saline drip and nutrients for days. I have since been diagnosed with bone cancer and spent weeks in hospital.

Dr. Stasiak put my life in danger. He treated me like an animal in front of many witnesses. If I had succumbed to his orders and gone home that day, I would be dead now.

Dr. Stasiak put my life in danger. He treated me like an animal in front of many witnesses. If I had succumbed to his orders and gone home that day, I would be dead now.

How many people are so awed by doctors that they don’t tell ?
How many patients never live to tell?

In a letter dated October 8, 2009, Dr. Joseph Portnoy, Chief of Staff of the JGH, wrote that Dr. Stasiak “offers his sincere apology and wishes you well.”

Case closed.

In September, 2009, I filed a formal complaint with the College des medecins du Quebec. In a letter dated November 5, 2009, Dr. Steven Lapointe writing for the College advises me to let the Jewish General Hospital do their own investigation.

What investigation ? I see nothing but a polite cover up.

Who really protects patients in Montreal ? Anyone ?

I will pursue this until appropriate action is taken.

As it happens, I learned that the family of another patient, Mrs. Kadech, were witness to what Dr. Stasiak did. They were shocked and they told Dr. Patenaude what they had seen.

I also learned that another patient in my room, a man named Mr. Marsella, also had a misdiagnosis in the emergency department of the Jewish General Hospital and he too was sent home. His family took him for an MRI in a private clinic - about $900.00 - so only the rich can survive. Sadly, Mr. Marsella died this summer.

WE NEED AN OPEN PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.

DOCTORS ARE BURYING THEIR MISTAKES.

Phyllis Carter