It takes a lot to upset Scotty Smith. But recently it happened, so much so he was shaking with emotion. The Nov. 30-Dec. 2 weekend was a tough one in the 70-year-old’s eventful life.
It takes a lot to upset Scotty Smith. But recently it happened, so much so he was shaking with emotion.
The Nov. 30-Dec. 2 weekend was a tough one in the 70-year-old’s eventful life. The ordeal began on Friday night when he started feeling unwell at his Barrhead home.
It was an ominous sign for someone who underwent a cancer operation in the summer. His natural reaction was: “Oh no, it’s back.”
The next day he drove to Barrhead hospital, underwent tests, and was taken by ambulance to St. Albert’s Sturgeon Community Hospital.
There, doctors gave him welcome news: scans showed that the problem was a kink in his intestines, not a resurgence of cancer. It was an enormous relief, of course. Now he could look forward to a meal and begin regaining strength.
Some additional news, however, was far from welcome when he was released at about 5 p.m. on Sunday: he would have to make his own arrangements for the 104-kilometre return trip.
Okay, perhaps, if you’ve got a network of friends on standby. Not okay, if you live by yourself and tend not to socialize much.
Okay, if you’ve got family members in the area. Not okay, if your nearest relatives are in Scotland.
Okay, if there is a bus service or you can afford a cab ride. Not okay, if there is no public transport and you are on a tight budget and reliant on a pension.
As Scotty lingered at the hospital, knowing that it was already dark outside, with the temperature feeling like -20, his options seemed non-existent to limited.
“I was very upset and very hurt with the system,” Scotty said last Tuesday. “I was shaking with emotions. It was so confusing – how could a senior be put in this position?”
Bewildered and stranded, he began to contemplate the absurd – hitch-hiking as he might have done in Scotland in the ’60s when he began his career as a travelling musician, singing and playing guitar.
He would just have to hope his physique – normally robust, but still recovering from the operation – could withstand the bitter cold until a motorist stopped.
Fortunately fate erased such a prospect. He contacted a Barrhead friend, who was only too willing to help him.
Then fate went one step further. Scotty’s friend had a son-in-law who happened to be in St. Albert and would be arriving at the hospital in about ten minutes.
“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “It’s amazing how things can work out.”
Scotty, who came to Canada in 1966, said he was in no way critical of the health care he received; it had been excellent, both in Barrhead and St. Albert. He wasn’t critical either of staff who told him he had to make his own travel arrangements – they were only following procedure, he said.
His concern was that his plight had exposed a loophole in the system which needed filling.
“I don’t want any senior to have to go through this,” he said. “I’m pretty strong, but supposing this happened to someone much weaker?”
Scotty, who has his own car, suggested a designated driver system could be set up, perhaps run by the Family &Community Support Services Society.
“Maybe they could have a van,” he said. “Of course, it should not be abused as a taxi service.”
He added he would be prepared to allocate some pension money towards such a scheme.
Barrhead Mayor Brian Schulz said he was appalled by the story of Scotty Smith’s predicament.
He said he would be raising it with Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock MLA Maureen Kubinec.
The issue would also be on the agenda at the next meeting of the Tamarack Health Advisory Council, of which he is a member, he added.
Schulz said it was clear health service personnel in St. Albert did not handle the situation correctly.
“With all the troubles Alberta Health Services seem to have that are so visible in our papers something as simple as this should have been addressed long, long ago,” he said.
Schulz said everybody should be covered by the health service, regardless of age, income or gender.
Kerry Williamson, manager of media and issues management for Alberta Health Services, said he could not comment specifically on a patient’s case since confidentiality had to be respected.
However, in terms of AHS policy, when patients are discharged from a particular facility, it is their responsibility to get themselves home, he said.
“We will work with the patient and their family before they are discharged to ensure they know when they will likely be able to go home, and that they are aware of their options in terms of transportation,” he said.
“The most desirable option is having a family member or friend pick them up and bring them home.”
Williamson said AHS can, and do, sometimes arrange for a third party carrier – say a bus service or a taxi – to take the patient home, but the cost is normally the patient’s responsibility.
“Sometimes, private insurance will cover all or part of the cost of transport,” he said. “If the patient does not have insurance and cannot afford it, there may be other options. We deal with these on a case-by-case basis.
“If staff are made aware of the patient’s transportation issues upon discharge, our social workers will help with arranging a taxi, getting a patient bus tickets, etc. In rare cases, sites will pay for taxis. It’s important that patients make the staff aware of those circumstances in advance.”
As Scotty reflects on his ordeal, the day he was marooned in St. Albert has become another anecdote in a rollercoaster life that has seen him spend several decades performing 50s and 60s standards, release an LP in the 1970s called “Picture Of You”, mix with some of the stars of yesterday, and even buy a guitar from Gerry Rafferty of Baker Street fame.
Scotty, whose home base was Edmonton before he moved to Barrhead, also made headline news in the 1990s as a ham radio operator. Then living in Tiger Lily, he was able to speak with Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who was part of a NASA space shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with Russian space station Mir.
After so many varied experiences, it takes a lot to rattle Smith. But 10 days ago in St. Albert, something occurred which did.
