Eagle Ridge Hospital patients receive substandard care as conditions deteriorate, ER doctor charges in $600k civil claim

Fraser Health Authority failed to remedy unsafe working conditions, ignored resource shortages, and hasn’t protected staff and patients, according to civil claim recently filed by an emergency room doctor.

Kaitlin Stockton has worked as an emergency room doctor at Eagle Ridge and Royal Columbian hospitals since 2017. In recent years, the 39-year-old North Vancouver resident has seen ER doctors and nurses: “regularly subjected to verbal and physical abuse by patients,” according to the claim.

Her claim describes a doctor being bit by a patient’s pit bull, an ER nurse suffering a concussion and having her jaw dislocated after being attacked by a patient, ER staff being threatened by a patient wielding a machete, and health care workers being attacked while walking to their cars.

In several cases, safety protocols were ineffective, with security arriving too late in one case and a violent patient being left unrestrained and unsupervised in another instance, according to the claim.

“Further, staff and patients are frequently exposed to second-hand narcotic smoke and used drug paraphernalia. These events are so common that they are normalized and are rarely if ever acknowledged by [Fraser Health Authority] management and leadership,” the claim stated.

Beyond the physical injuries, the incidents have contributed to burnout among hospital staff.

“ER Physicians and nurses at RCH and ERH suffer from moral distress, moral injury, and burnout from being forced to provide unsafe, substandard, or undignified care due to overcapacity and resource shortages,” according to the claim.

Eagle Ridge and Royal Columbian hospitals routinely operate with a shortage of four to six emergency physician shifts each day, the claim stated.

Those staff shortages have resulted in wait times stretching to 14 hours in some cases, as well as an increasing number of patients leaving the hospital without being seen.

Stockton and her colleagues “repeatedly advocated” for the health authority to address the deteriorating conditions, according to the claim.

The sign

On Nov. 18, 2024, facing critical overcapacity and resource shortages, doctors at Eagle Ridge asked to cancel elective surgeries, call a Code Orange, and divert ambulances. The requests were denied, according to the claim.

However, department head, Dr. Melissa Keith gave permission for a sign to be posted in the ER waiting room informing patients of long waits and resource shortages.

Stockton placed a sign at Eagle Ridge. The signs were shared on social media and covered by the press.

“Instead of taking this time to reflect and take accountability for their inaction, which ultimately contributed to severe patient harm and moral injury among the staff working that day, FHA issued a press statement calling the signs ‘false,’” the claim stated.

Stockton was singled-out, bullied, and threatened for putting up the sign, according to the claim.

“FHA was not truly interested in investigating the events of November 18 or proposing solutions, but rather in holding Dr. Stockton accountable for the fallout FHA experienced – namely, negative media attention and reputational harm,” the claim stated.

Stockton was questioned about the font choice and other details of the sign, despite her explaining she didn’t personally write it.

The matter was eventually resolved. The claim noted that Stockton did not receive a requested apology.

Hospital staff fear speaking out, “due to a culture of retaliation against those who do,” according to the claim.

Code Orange

The incident on Nov. 18 was one of four times within two months that ER doctors requested a Code Orange be activated.

“Physicians were unable to care for critically ill patients in a safe or timely manner due to critical overcapacity and resource shortages,” the claim stated.

Each Code Orange request was rejected by Fraser Health administrators.

Constructive dismissal

Fraser Health has contravened the terms of Stockton’s employment, amounting to constructive dismissal, the claim contended.

Constructive dismissal generally occurs when an employer fails to comply with a major aspect of a contract or forces an employee to quit.

The toxic and unsafe work conditions at the hospital have created: “an untenable work environment and irreparably broken Dr. Stockton’s trust in FHA to fulfill its legal and contractual obligations as her employer.”

Stockton is seeking one year’s wages amounting to $350,000, out of pocket expenses in finding comparable employment, and punitive damages of $250,000.

As the matter is before the courts, Fraser Health declined to comment.

None of the charges have been proved in court.