B.C. woman says elderly mother's severe burns misdiagnosed, improperly treated for weeks at local hospital

Concerns raised over hospital care An Abbotsford woman is speaking out about the care her elderly mother received at her local hospital after suffering third-degree burns.

A B.C. woman alleges her elderly mother was misdiagnosed for weeks after suffering severe burns, saying she fears the 75-year-old could have died had the family had not advocated for better treatment.

Maureen Keyes says she fought for weeks to get proper care for her mom, Martha Ruth Harris at the local hospital.

After battling breast cancer 12 years ago and suffering a stroke that left her paralyzed, Harris moved in with her daughter, who's been her caretaker since.

Last month, Harris burned herself while making soup, and her wounds stretched from her knees to her groin.

Her family immediately took her to the Abbotsford Regional Hospital for treatment.

"Basically [they] said there was 28 people ahead of her and it was going to be a while,” said Keyes, who also acts as her mother's power of attorney.

Not knowing the extent of her mother’s injuries, Keyes was told to go home and pick her mother up later.

When she returned and saw the burns, she says she knew it was serious.

"I just said, 'You have to keep her because I can't even get her into my car right now. I can't get her home,” she said.

Keyes says was told the following day that her mother was ready to go, but she had concerns.

She took her home after the hospital insisted she would be fine with home care, which Keyes said her family didn’t receive.

Days later, it was discovered that her mother's burns were infected after Keyes’ friend helped change Harris’ wound dressings.

The family brought Harris back to the hospital and were told the burns weren't serious and that she should go home, but Keyes refused.

So the hospital admitted her mother.

“There was zero mention of an infection down in emergency,” said Keyes.

“By the time she got upstairs, they had her on an IV. And I thought, 'What if she had gone home? This infection could have killed her,'” Keyes recalls.

For weeks, she says the hospital told her to take her mother home

But Keyes insisted her mother stay at the hospital because she was too weak to return. A doctor later called her to discuss end-of-life care

“I was really upset that this doctor almost didn’t have the time or the patience to understand what was previously wrong with her."

After weeks of phone calls and hospital visits, Keyes says her mother was finally admitted to Vancouver General Hospital where she underwent skin-graft surgery for what turned out to be third-degree burns.

“How did this go misdiagnosed?" Keyes asks.

A spokesperson for Fraser Health issued a statement to CTV News about the case, but was unable to comment on specifics due to patient privacy.

“We are sorry to hear that a patient’s family has concerns about the care their loved one received at Abbotsford Regional Hospital. We have connected with the patient’s family directly to hear their concerns,” an email read.

“When a patient arrives in our Emergency Department, their condition is carefully assessed so we can determine whether they require specialized care,” the statement continued.

Keyes disagrees, adding that while she understands the health-care system is strained, she lost more hope with every visit to the hospital.

“I really don’t know how I can get any trust back,” she said.

While Harris is now recovering from surgery and healing well, Keyes hopes by sharing her experience, others will push for better care for their loved ones too.