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LETTER: Langley resident concerned about elderly husband’s hospital stay

Writer critical of lack of communication and some staff spending too much time on their devices
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Langley Memorial Hospital as been the site of at least one COVID-19 outbreak. (Langley Advance Times files)

Dear Editor,

My 78-year-old husband was recently in hospital for a plateau fracture requiring surgery. He spent 10 days in Langley Memorial Hospital as he developed pneumonia after the surgery.

We are grateful to the paramedics who were so kind when they came to our home, and the nurses, surgeon and doctors who cared for him while he was in LMH.

This whole episode was made so much more difficult for us, as for many others because of COVID. There was no communication from the hospital except for the physiotherapists who were friendly and very professional.

It was very difficult to sit by a phone for 5 1/2 hours waiting to here how the surgery went and if my husband was alive. Again, no communication.

As LMH is not a COVID hospital, I fail to understand the lack of communication.

My husband tells me that 80 per cent of the nurses were wonderful and the other 20 per cent were too busy playing games on their personal phones or devices.

Shame on that 20 per cent! You signed up for a demanding job and your lack of respect for the patients and your fellow nurses is appalling.

Please bring back head nurses to filter out those who don’t want to work for a living. The cost of a head nurse on each ward would far outweigh the cost of the slackers.

Hilda Buvyer, Langley

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