Vancouver General Hospital — Hospital in Vancouver

Reviews of Vancouver General Hospital

• Thomas

  Added 2016.10.08

  If you care about how your elderly loved one is treated squawk loud and clear so they don't die too soon.
• Leo

  Added 2016.08.03

  Update: Yet another experience: My dad told his primary care physician about his acid reflux, burping, and related symptoms, for over two years. He was placed on acid reducing meds for over two years, with little improvement and was just told it's normal because he's old. "Old age" is not a medical diagnosis, but in any event... my dad asked point blank whether it's possible there was a more insidious cause, such as cancer, and whether he needed an endoscopy or scan of some sort to rule that possibility out, but was dismissed each time. To make matters worse, he was told- "Only one question per appointment". Doctors make about $30-40 per visit, and each appointment my dad went to lasted only 5 minutes. So this fellow was charging probably $300 - 500 per hour of taxpayers' money to give dismissive care (interestingly, physicians who spend time with their patients- say, 30 minutes, will make only about $60 - 80 per hour, so the system penalizes good physicians- but that's another matter altogether!) Eventually we went to see a physician who was a friend, and asked him to help my dad get a endoscopy, where the gastroenterologist saw unusual tissue. It would have taken several months to see a specialist for follow-up, so we had to pay out of pocket to go the U.S., where they did an endoscopic ultrasound, and found out that my had had cancer. The year or so of delay would have made the difference between curative versus palliative care, and we are hoping there is still possibility for a curative approach. There is a study that the 3rd leading cause of death after cancer and heart disease is physician error. Physicians, like everyone, can be good or bad, smart or dumb, and if you care about your life, you should make sure you find a good doctor, because a good doctor can save your life, whereas a bad doctor can take your life.
• Zoe

  Added 2016.06.30

  Last month my sister-in-law's 107 year old grandmother died in agonizing pain in the hospital because the nurses would not listen. This was a vibrant energetic elderly who had a fractured hip. That's why she was in the hospital. The nurses turned her onto the broken side to prevent bed sores. We asked every nurse in vain to turn her off the fractured side and no one listened. The doctor was even surprised that she was turned onto her fractured side when he came by later. She even tried to turn herself back but failed. She was on her broken side for over 12 hours when this was all discovered. She died from a heart attack from the extreme pain! She died in extreme pain! Bed sores would have been better than this!
• Hazel

  Added 2016.03.08

  If we had the wherewithal we'd sue!
• Piper

  Added 2016.01.06

  Great medical care. Doctor and Nurses do what they are trained to do. Yes. Get the patients well.. Great show!
• Jordan

  Added 2015.10.14

  Horrible experience. First of all, I'm not laying blame on anyone, but I can say that it would be much better to try any other hospital (except maybe Richmond). I came here with a family member on 3 separate occasions for the same reason (unexplained fainting), and each time we were there overnight, only to be seen by a physician who dismissed us, saying it was nothing. Luckily one of my friends is a staff physician who did me a favour and admitted my family member, who, before getting to the hospital bed, nearly died, and had to be resuscitated. If my friend didn't do this favour for me, likely Vancouver General Hospital would have been responsible for killing one of my family members. I cannot imagine how many people have died due to this sort of thing. Sadly, most victims' families are completely ignorant of the medical field and place blind faith in the system, and believe even afterwards that they got good care. The system is broken. Canada's health care system is great for those who do not work, because they get the same care as everyone else. However, it's just mediocre care, probably because it's government managed, because there just aren't enough resources to give excellent care to everyone, and just because socialist/ communism just doesn't work for healthcare in the same way that it didn't work for economics; whatever the root cause, the care you get is mediocre, but it's often the difference between mediocre and good care that makes the difference between life and death.
• Christian

  Added 2015.07.05

  This 107 year old was vibrant until she went into the hospital. She was living on her own and still gardening!
• Jason

  Added 2015.01.21

  The nursing staff did not do there job properly. Did not give me my insulin one morning. Told me to change my own bedding. Forgot to bring me lunch 2 days in a row. Needs to hire better trained nursing staff
• Jose

  Added 2014.11.03

  This hospital has no tolerance for seniors who take up bed space and are inevitably going to die. My mother passed away here and after much pestering the surgeon admitted that my mother's space would be better to serve someone who will survive. This was 3 years ago.
• Victoria

  Added 2013.10.16

  The family felt the staff viewed her as a waste of resource and space. That's why asking them to fix her position was ignored. Had the doctor been there he would have demanded this.
• Avery

  Added 2013.05.30

  Outstanding medical care. Surgical team, ICU staff, and ward care was all excellent. To be honest, I did not choose to be there, my surgeon did. He's a rock star, the staff are awesome. When I need care in the future, I only hope it measures up to this.