‘Falling Through the Cracks’ tells one man’s story of dying within the health-care system
By Gillian Slade on October 18, 2018.
www.gregswings.ca This screengrab shows the webpage for the short film "Falling Through the Cracks."
gslade@medicinehatnews.com @MHNGillianSlade
“Falling Through the Cracks” is a film about the personal story of someone who reaped the consequences of his medical information not being appropriately shared.
The film will be shown at Medicine Hat College on Oct. 27 at 2 p.m. and it is open to the public. The film will be followed by a panel discussion.
Detailed in the film is the fact that approximately one in 18 Canadians encounters a harmful event related to a medical error that results in serious complications or even death.
“Falling Through The Cracks: Greg’s Story,” tells the personal story of Greg Price, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2011 in Alberta and died days after surgery.
Greg’s sister Teri and his father Dave will be at Medicine Hat College for the screening and the panel discussion following.
“We have found the movie sparks very good conversations in and with the audience about experiences with the health-care system and ways to support positive change. We all —the healthy public and the patients and providers — need to listen, learn and work together on this,” said Dave.
The Health Quality Council of Alberta launched an investigation into the circumstances behind Price’s health care.
The report noted that miscommunication on a number of levels contributed in part to his early death, according to a statement by Brightsquid, a company campaigning for a more secure way for health information communication.
“We continue to tell Greg’s story to inspire positive change and improvement to the quality of health care we receive in Canada,” said Rohit Joshi, CEO, Brightsquid. “Tools like Brightsquid can be used to ensure that what happened to Greg doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
Days after Price’s surgery to remove a malignant testicle he died of a blood clot while at his home. He was 31 years old.
“Falling Through the Cracks” was screened in Calgary this spring and has made the rounds across the country, including Ottawa and Vancouver.
The film has also become part of the curriculum at the University of Calgary for first-year medical students.
A study on the economics of patient safety in acute care, released in 2012 by the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, estimated the economic burden of preventable incidents, from 2009 to 2010, at $307 million, according to the book “After the Error: Speaking out about patient safety to save lives,” by Susan McIver and Robin Wyndham.
A serious vehicle accident or airplane crash automatically results in a full investigation while an unexpected death or severe complications in a hospital, as a result of misconduct or a mistake, does not necessarily lead to an investigation, the book notes. It’s often up to the aggrieved patient or family to push for an investigation and/or changes to the system.
The Canadian Adverse Events Study revealed as many as 24,000 patients die each year in acute care hospitals as a result of mistakes and a total of 87,500 patients admitted every year in Canadian hospitals are affected by those mistakes.
The Canadian Patient Safety Institute raises awareness and helps to implement patient safety initiatives.
http://www.patientsafetyinstitute.ca/English/Pages/default.aspx
Greg’s Wings, is an advocacy organization the Price family founded in Greg’s memory.
