Double amputee left homeless after discharge from Lions Gate Hospital

A North Vancouver man who endured amputations on both his legs says he’s been left in a lurch by the health-care system after being discharged from Lions Gate Hospital without access to wheelchair-accessible housing.

Kevin Grant said he fears that his housing problem could jeopardize getting started on rehabilitation, including learning to use prosthetics that will literally get him back on his feet.

Grant, a lifelong North Vancouver resident who works in construction, said his medical nightmare started with an infection in his right foot, exacerbated by circulation problems. The infection got worse, eventually requiring amputation of half his right foot. But following further surgery and a bad reaction to antibiotics, an infection also set in his left foot. This time it was worse, and the infection kept climbing. Grant endured nine surgeries over 18 months, eventually resulting in amputation of his lower leg.

He started occupational therapy at Vancouver General Hospital, then was told he was being transferred to Lions Gate to be fitted for a prosthetic leg and receive rehab. But when he got there, he was told, “No, we don’t do rehab,” said Grant.

Instead, that was more likely to happen at the GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre, Grant said.

Suitable housing needed for rehab

But there was a catch. Staff at GF Strong weren’t keen to get him started until he had a suitable living environment – something Grant says the health-care system hasn’t helped him find.

Currently, “I don’t have a place to live” that is wheelchair accessible, said Grant.

While in hospital, he got evicted from his former rental suite in North Vancouver because he couldn’t pay rent, he said. That suite wouldn’t have been wheelchair accessible anyway, he added.

But when it came time to leave Lions Gate, Grant said the best his hospital social worker could offer was a bed in a homeless shelter that he would have to leave between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. each day, or a room in a Downtown Eastside single-room occupancy.

Grant said since the hospital told him he had to leave on Friday, he’s been able to stay at his brother’s basement suite in Tsawwassen. But that’s also not wheelchair accessible. “My brother’s got to carry me out of here,” he said. “I can’t come and go as I need to.”

It’s also a long way from supports, like his regular doctor.

Grant said he’s disillusioned with the system, which he’d hoped would put more effort into connecting him with suitable housing.

“I’ve been an active member of our community. I’ve never been on welfare before,” he said. “I’ve just hit a really tough patch in my life.”

The system, he says, “totally let me down. It just seems wrong.”

Vancouver Coastal Health declined to discuss Grant’s case, citing privacy concerns. The health authority works with “patients and their families to establish safe and appropriate discharge plans,” according to an emailed statement.

“VCH works with our community partners to ensure a safe transition for patients with complex care needs.”

The health authority said allegations of insufficient quality of care are investigated.

MLA's office aware of situation

North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA Bowinn Ma said her office is aware of Grant’s situation and is working with a non-profit organization to try to help find housing.

She added in general terms the situation speaks to the desperate need for more affordable housing on the North Shore.

“That there are people in our communities who find themselves with no place to go home to in any situation, let alone following a personal health crisis, is one of the unacceptable realities our government is working hard to change,” she stated.