Her husband died awaiting surgery delayed by the pandemic. She says N.S. health care is broken
CBC
Gay Clarke keeps wondering why things didn't happen differently.
"I did all the what-ifs," she said.
She and her husband, Mark Clarke, lived in Kentville, N.S., until his death at the age of 66 in February.
Mark died the day before he was supposed to have cardiac surgery that had already been delayed due to a lack of available ICU beds, Gay said.
The doctor was afraid Mark would contract COVID-19 if he stayed in the hospital, she said.
"COVID probably would have been better than what happened," Gay said.
She said the entire process was gruelling. Mark first went to the doctor with chest pain in July 2021.
Gay said months went by without hearing back from the doctor. Her husband called again in November as the pain got worse.
He had to wait until January for another test that revealed he had two blockages and urgently needed surgery, Gay said.
She said they didn't hear from a doctor for another two weeks and the procedure was scheduled for a month after that.
Mark didn't make it that long. He suffered a fatal heart attack at home.
"I'm angry at the system," Gay said. "This should not have happened."
Dr. Gregory Hirsch, the senior medical director of the surgical services network for Nova Scotia Health, said he anticipated the strain the pandemic put on the health-care system could have tragic results.
Hirsch said the biggest challenges to getting surgeries done on time have been a lack of hospital beds and having support staff like nurses pulled away to COVID-19 units.
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