Erin Hayes spent the whole day and night at her mother's bedside while dying at Michael Garron Hospital this month.
Nancy Hayes, 81, suffered from lung cancer, vascular dementia and end-stage renal failure, Hayes' daughter said.
“I made a promise to my father – he passed away 16 years ago and promised him and mother. If the time comes when you couldn't defend yourself for yourself, I'm sure I'll be there. 16 days, day and night,” she said.
However, on Sunday afternoon, Hayes said he was forced to leave his mother. Three hours later, she learned she had died.
“I feel like I'm being taken away from those precious final moments,” she said.
It was Friday, Hayes said, she felt something biting her around 4am.
“I looked at my arms with the light and found myself continuing with three bites. I quickly looked up my mother and noticed her the couple,” she said, “My idea is, 'These are bed bugs.' ” he added.
Hayes said he went to address concerns with nursing staff.
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“The nurse seemed angry at it, but he had no idea how to handle the situation, so I moved on to the nurse's manager. And when I spoke to her, I met resistance and deflection, “Are you sure it can't be anything else? And I said, 'Absolutely not't,” she said.
Hayes said he was offered a “decorated chair” to be placed by his mother's bedside, and staff appeared in a “Hazmat style suit” with a machine that looked like a “steam machine” to clean the room.
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“The protocol was to give the mother a special bath and she had to change her bed. In her frail condition, they couldn't even turn her at this point, so it took a lot of time to move from one bed to the other on Friday,” she said.
Two days later, Hayes said her mother's palliative care doctor advised her that the end was nearing and that she should contact her family.
“I leaned down to give my mom a hug and kiss, when I saw the live one walking on her pillow,” she said.
Hayes said she dealt with this with the staff nurse again and showed the pillow that the insects were raw it.
“One of the nurses began screaming to me not to come near her. 'It needs to go to the bag and you need to double-pack it in the bag' and then it was the nurse standing together with her room number and her name and saying, 'She has to bring them'. As if that was what I brought to the hospital,” she said.
Hayes took a video of the insects raw pillows and showed it to global news.
She also provided photos of her mother showing a bug bite on her mother's body and biting her arms and neck.
Global News showed the video to pest control companies. Staff were unable to confirm or confirm whether the insect raw pillows were bed bugs or a different type of bug.
In her final hours, Hayes said she felt anxious, fearful, and unable to be close to her mother.
“I got home, took off outside and had to heat treat all my belongings, I took a nice, good, long shower. Then I missed it. She passed away,” she said crying.
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Hayes said she felt that her experience was “absolutely scary.”
“My worst nightmare, absolutely my worst,” she said.
In a statement, Michael Garron Hospital told Global News that he was warned about a report of bed bugs at the hospital on Friday, September 26th.
“As soon as our team noticed, we acted without hesitation to leave the room and start treatment. As a public space for traffic, most hospitals, including MGH, have strategies to treat and eliminate bed bugs.
“I think this is Ford's Ontario, and that's not acceptable on so many levels,” Hayes said. “Our system is so broken and taken away, and I don't want anyone else to have to go through the same thing at such a high time.”
Global News contacted the Ministry of Health and a spokesman provided the following statement:
“Hospitals should implement evidence-based infection prevention and control (IPAC) practices guided by the standards and protocols referenced in the Ontario Public Health Standards (OPH).
“These practices aim to prevent the spread of microorganisms, including those that may be associated with pests such as bed bugs, and include measures such as environmental cleaning, isolation procedures and staff training.”
It's a situation that underscored Hayes' concerns about the state.
“I'm afraid of Ontarians who need health care, especially if you can't defend yourself. That's very scary,” Hayes said.
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