Frank Cameron’s wife shares his story in hopes it can improve health care for others

The call Chris Cameron received from the hospital on Jan. 16 said her husband, Frank, had fallen. He had only a small cut on his head, but he was crying and asking for her, she was told.

She arrived at Victoria General Hospital a short time later to find him in a wheelchair, waiting for her at the nurses’ station. She quickly realised that something much more serious could be wrong with her husband.

Based on how painful it was for him to be put to bed and the position of one of his legs once he was lying down, a family friend and retired nurse who accompanied Chris to the hospital that day suspected a broken hip. An x-ray confirmed that suspicion and Chris was informed the next day.

“That was my biggest fear,” she said during a recent interview. “It came true. And I knew that was the end for him.”

Frank Cameron, a well-known radio and television presenter for decades, died in hospital on January 20, four days after breaking his hip. He was 85.

It was the painful end to multiple frustrations and disappointments with the health care system, as Chris tried to stand up for her husband and get him the right care in the right place.

More than five months later, she still has questions.

Tributes would pour in for Cameron, who spent much of his career in various roles at the CBC. After retiring, he combined his love of radio and music as a presenter at local radio station Seaside FM from 2005 until July 28, 2023.

Until now, however, little was known about the circumstances surrounding his death, or the fact that he spent his last six months, except for two days, in hospital.

Chris Cameron said she decided to speak publicly because she wants to see change in the health care system. She said she hopes to prevent other people from going through a similar experience.

She first shared her concerns in a letter to Premier Tim Houston, Health Minister Michelle Thompson, Nova Scotia Health interim CEO Karen Oldfield and Liberal Party Leader Zach Churchill after Frank died. A follow-up meeting was scheduled with health authority officials for May 2.

“I just thought, ‘You know what, I have to do this for him. I have to know that his death wasn’t in vain.'”

July 28th last year started out as a normal day for Frank Cameron. He went to the radio station.

But when he got home, he fell in the bathroom. He stayed on the floor until Chris got home and had to call 911. At first, Chris thought this was like the falls Frank had experienced before and that he would be in the hospital for a few days and then go home. That was not the case.

Frank complained of back pain during the two weeks he spent at Dartmouth General Hospital, where he was treated for pneumonia and a urinary tract infection. He received physical therapy to improve his mobility.

He was discharged on Friday, but by Sunday he was back in the hospital, his mobility hampered by pain and other complications from the ongoing infection.

Four days later, Chris received a call saying that x-rays showed spinal fractures in Frank’s lower back from the fall that had sent him to the hospital in the first place.

After Frank had spent several weeks at Dartmouth General, Chris successfully advocated in September for him to be moved to the restorative care unit at the Camp Hill Building in Halifax. The hope was that Frank would eventually return home—and there was some progress—but by November it became clear that this would not be possible. He was placed on a waiting list for long-term care.

‘Responsibility to keep Frank safe not fulfilled’

He fell more often while waiting. His confusion increased when he was diagnosed with dementia.

Chris said she understood that restorative care was no longer the right place for him, but she was concerned that he would deteriorate further if he were moved to an acute care unit, where he wouldn’t receive the daily attention Frank received at Camp Hill while he waited for a long-term care spot.

In early January his doctor assured him this would not happen, but Frank and other patients in the recovery unit were transferred the next day to empty beds on Ward 9A, the general surgery department at Victoria General Hospital.

When Chris got a call that Frank would be moved later that day, no one could tell her who made the decision, nor could they give a reason for the change.

In addition, there was no one with him when the move took place, as the move took place several hours earlier than Chris was told.

“We believe that NSH has failed in its responsibility to keep Frank safe,” she wrote in her letter to the prime minister, the health minister and others.

‘At the VG he lay like a body in a bed’

Cameron said she immediately saw a difference in the care Frank received at Victoria General Hospital compared to the care he received at Camp Hill.

“When he was in convalescent care, Frank was a person,” she said. “In VG, he was a body in a bed and that was it.”

There were times when it was difficult to find staff to get information or even a glass of water for Frank, she said. At one point, miscommunication about which doctor was caring for him resulted in delays in getting his pain medication.

Then there are the outstanding questions, like how he ended up in a wheelchair after that last fall without anyone noticing he had a broken hip and who made the decision to take him to the VG in the first place.

“A man who never cried was now scared and cried every day, not knowing where he was or what was happening. And never knowing why, because we didn’t even know why,” Chris writes in her letter.

“When we should have been spending time with Frank, we had to advocate for every intervention he needed. It was extremely stressful and exhausting.”

Cameron said it appeared that staff on Ward 9A did not know how to care for a dementia patient waiting for long-term care. He said the VG lacked compassion and personal care.

“Simple things like making sure his eyes are open in the morning, making sure his mouth is always moist because his mouth is so dry, making sure he’s clean.”

Nova Scotia Health officials declined an interview request for this story.

In a statement, a spokesperson said decisions about patient transfers are made based on a comprehensive assessment of each patient’s needs and condition. The goal is to ensure that each patient receives “the right level of care in the most appropriate setting.”

The statement states that transfers from recovery care occur when a patient no longer meets the care needs of the department. The transfer is supervised by the care coordination center in collaboration with the patient’s care team.

Unit ‘can care for other patients if necessary’

Although Victoria General’s Unit 9A primarily cares for patients who have undergone surgical procedures, the statement said it “can also care for other patients if required” and that the interdisciplinary team there includes doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers, chaplains and access to all other specialist services as required.

Last week, two months after her first meeting with health authorities, Cameron was contacted to schedule a follow-up meeting to discuss the findings in response to her questions.

A statement from the health authority said authorities aim to take action as quickly as possible once they are confident that all reported issues have been addressed, so that families feel that their concerns have been heard and action taken.

Cameron said she plans to attend the meeting later this week. She said her expectations are low.

“I’d like to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I have my doubts.”