'I was stunned': Family members say patients living with dementia transferred without notice

Dementia patients moved without families knowing Two families in NB are demanding answers after their loves ones with dementia were moved from one community to another without them knowing.

Jeanette Nagle woke up in a hospital bed in Sackville, N.B. Tuesday morning, but she's not quite sure how she got there.

The 77-year-old, who lives with dementia, was transported from the Moncton Hospital to the Sackville Memorial Hospital on Monday.

A medical emergency sent her to hospital in early November and she's been waiting for a spot in a long-term care facility ever since.

Her daughter, Kelley Nagle, said she heard a move was possible on Monday, but no official notice was given.

“As power of attorney, where she has dementia, I should have been notified that she was being transferred to another hospital. I am responsible for her personal care and her financial care and I was never notified by the hospital,” said Nagle.

Christa Wheeler-Thorne, the executive director of the Moncton Hospital, said the Horizon Health Network often transfers patients awaiting rooms in a long-term care setting from acute care beds in Moncton to designated transitional care beds in Sackville.

“While we do our best to place patients who are from the Sackville area at SMH [Sackville Memorial Hospital], this is not always possible,” said Wheeler-Thorne. “Although we cannot comment on specific cases, our process includes provisions where families are to be notified in advance whenever a loved one is being transferred to another facility.”

Nagle said she did not receive advance notice.

“If we were notified in advance, my mother would have been leaving this hospital in an ambulance with a winter jacket and winter boots. She left this hospital in her pyjamas wrapped up in blankets. That's not advance warning,” said Nagle.

Mike Saunders' 93-year-old mother, who also lives with dementia, was transported from Moncton to Sackville on Monday too. She’s also awaiting a bed in a long-term care facility.

Saunders said he found out Monday, roughly 45 minutes after his visit, that a transfer was in process.

“I was stunned. I couldn't believe what was happening. Especially when I go every day to the hospital. No one could have told me anything before? I'm in charge of my mother. I'm responsible for my mother and they did this without even telling me,” said Saunders.

Saunders and Nagle both said they know the health system is stretched to the limit and beds are needed, but they wish things had been handled differently.

“I'm at wit's end,” said Saunders.

New Brunswick Health Minister Bruce Fitch said he's spoken to Nagle about the situation.

“It's surprising to me if people were not given any indication of that move,” said Fitch in Fredericton. “The other thing that we're trying to do here is free up space in the hospital to make sure people admitted through the emergency room have a bed.”

Saunders and Nagle said they will make the 30 to 40 minute drive to Sackville on a daily basis until a long-term care facility can be found for their mothers.