A Winnipeg man says he counted on the hospital to help his mom get well, not to make things worse.
Ralph Doose told Global News his 88-year-old mother Inge has been in and out of Concordia Hospital with a severe bladder infection.
Doose said he received a call from the facility Thursday, explaining that during one of her stays, she may have been exposed to scabies.
“What do you say to that? You go completely numb,” Doose said. “I tried to get some details, but all they said was someone was admitted and the entire wing was exposed.”
Later that day when he was visited his mother at the hospital, he was given a printed note outlining the outbreak.
It turns out his mother did contract scabies.
Scabies is an itchy skin condition is caused by tiny burrowing mites. Doctors often recommend treating entire families or groups of people since it is contagious and can spread quickly through close personal contact.
Doose said his mother, who remains in hospital, is now being treated. “This is my mother, she means the world to me,” Doose said.
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He must now wear full protective clothing when he visits her.
“She’s terrified, I can see it in her eyes when I talk to her”, he said.
“Especially yesterday when I walked in full protective garb and everyone around is suddenly like that.”
Concordia Hospital first detected the skin condition Aug. 6, but declared a scabies outbreak Aug. 8.
So far two people have contracted it. 27 patients were given treatment, along with 71 staff members.
The hospital also put up signs restricting visitors.
“We chose to contact everyone,” explained Valerie Wiebe, President & COO of Concordia Hospital.
“We called 37 people after the fact, who had been in the hospital prior to the scabies outbreak to let them know there may have contact with scabies, and we sent them a fact sheet and told them what the rash looked like, and who to go see.”
Wiebe added the outbreak is now contained.
“The outbreak is certainly considered contained. We treated everyone in the unit, all staff have had the prophylactic, plus we did a terminal clean of the whole unit. That means you turn the whole unit upside down and you wash everything.”
Wiebe stressed there is no concern for people coming into the hospital now, but she said they must wait 12 weeks before the outbreak is officially declared over.
As for Doose, he said one positive from all this, is the treatment his mother has been receiving from hospital staff.
“This ER is top notch,” Doose said. “The staff in there are the absolute best. They treat you like a human being, not a a number.
“The nurses here, my heart goes out to them, they are so overworked but they still find the time to give the patient the compassion and care they need.”
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