Palliative care unit in Lunenburg still not open 4 years after it was announced

CBC

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Four years after it was announced, a palliative care unit at Fishermen's Memorial Hospital in Lunenburg, N.S., has still not opened its doors due to staffing challenges.
The five-bed unit to serve Lunenburg and Queens counties was scheduled to open in the fall of 2021 with "home-like environments" that would accommodate patients receiving end-of-life care and their families.
Nova Scotia Health says it hired a medical director in June to prepare for the opening and operation of the unit. But there is no opening date yet, even though the physical space is ready.
CBC News requested an interview with a representative of the health authority, but it could not accommodate one and instead sent an emailed statement.
"Staffing a new unit with a specialized area of care has its own unique challenges," a spokesperson for the authority said in the statement. "We are working to add doctors, nurses and other staff before these beds can be populated."
For people like Mahone Bay resident Christopher Heide, the delay made an already painful situation more difficult.
His terminally ill wife, Deborah Hickman, died in the hospital's emergency department on May 26, 2022, without access to the care the unit was meant to provide.
Heide said his partner of almost 50 years developed a sudden cough and was diagnosed with pneumonia shortly before her death.
He had heard from a friend that the Lunenburg hospital had a palliative care unit, so he decided to ask about it.
"The doctor wasn't able to make that happen. And we ended up in a room just as part of the emergency ward in Fishermen's," he said.
Hickman was placed in a room near the hospital entrance, where Heide said they constantly heard the wail of ambulance sirens, the clatter of stretchers, and the bustle of nurses and doctors coming and going. They also had to share the room with another patient, and only two visitors were allowed at a time.
Heide said staff were kind and attentive, but he missed the comfort, privacy and family-oriented space that palliative care offers — something he experienced when his mother died in another province.
He said it's disheartening to see that, three years later, the unit is still not open.
"I feel very frustrated for all the people who are going through it now," said Heide. "There's a great need out there."
When CBC News asked the health authority how many people are needed to have full coverage of the unit, the spokesperson said the hiring of Dr. Patricia Caldeira as medical director was a positive first step.
"Efforts are focused on continuing to work on securing the rest of the team needed to open the beds. Beyond that, I don't have anything else," the spokesperson said.
Marlene Wheatley-Downe, vice-chair of the South Shore Hospice Palliative Care Society, says she knows of other cases in her community similar to Hickman's.
Her organization has been advocating for more palliative care beds, and says it has been in communication with the health authority regarding the unit.
However, Wheatley-Downe said it is "frustrating" and "disappointing" not knowing when the unit will open or how many people they need to hire.
"We toured the unit last September, and everything was there and ready to go. But they were empty," she said.
Wheatley-Downe hopes the hiring of a medical director means the rooms will open sooner rather than later.
Lunenburg County has the oldest median population in the province, so she says it's important to have those five beds up and running.