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Sunday, April 28, 2013

Mother Petitioning Horizon Health for Independent Patient Advocate

Health problems are bad enough without feeling out of the loop about your treatment, and Fredericton activist Monica McNally is petitioning the board of Horizon Health for an independent patient advocate to make sure people get the answers they're seeking. 

McNally tells CHSJ News under the current system, patient advocates are hospital employees and as a result aren't exactly impartial. She'd like to see a totally independent advocate, like an ombudsman, to answer questions and make sure patients are treated with respect.

She says her son, Laurie, was misdiagnosed and treated disrespectfully by some hospital staff as he recovered from a life-altering bowel surgery. She says the province can't afford to make errors with people's treatment.