North Island Hospital Comox Valley - Courtenay, British Columbia

Yang L.

It's such a huge strain on the economy to have people who can actually give engineers some sense and direction for the work they do to endlessly help those in need. You will not believe how helpful a little hint actually is in the grand overall design. The best deal the engineers can get is mirroring the skill sets of a doctor through engineering theories via very limited exposure with no hand holding whatsoever. There's often no permanent solutions and it's just a repeated cycle. The faith and conviction that drives the blind fury the Americans fear is only found in Canada.

Nadene R.

Great experience at the ER, friendly team who seemed to actually enjoy working there, super clean and well organized, clear wayfinding and signage, nice cafe staff. First time ever a porter wheeled me to imaging just to be helpful, first time in any hospital anywhere that a volunteer asked me if I wanted an herbal tea while I waited to be seen. Kudos.

Pida B.

I can't tell you how awesome my experience was. The volunteer lady was exceptional at helping me..the check in clerk was just as rad!! Then the x-ray tech made my visit superior. But best of all was Allison. Seing her and her beautiful personality helping me navigate my way through to help me find my way out!! And it can be confusing.. she was my highlight! Silly post for a hospital visit. But you can be nervous being there. These folks were amazing!! Thank you

Martin D.

On July 02 I collapsed due to low BP and was taken by ambulance to North Island Hospital. Paramedics David and Dan did a fabulous job of getting me comfortable on the ground, into the ambulance and to the hospital. I was in the hospital for a week while it was determined I needed further treatment down island. During that week, Drs. Johan Nel, Tyler Wilson and Scott Stewart all introduced themselves by their first names, which I appreciated very much. They visited me regularly, explained clearly in layman's terms what was happening to me. All the nurses who cared for me were caring and worked so efficiently...they were brilliant! I received meals on time from the house staff. The meals were perfectly adequate and better than I would have expected of institution food. Thanks to everyone at N.I.H. who had a hand in getting me ready for my ambulance trip down island. I am home now and feeling great! Thank you!

Jacob C.

My mom went to the hospital due to severe anemia and troubles swallowing/breathing. She met with "Dr. Nel" he tried to tell her it was in her head and if she listened to his terrible advice she could've died.

My dad passed away due to a blood clot a few years back. He was in the hospital monthly. Before the valleys hospital tansfered to the new location, he was at St. Josephs. They had him strapped to a bed because he wanted to leave so badly. A female nurse with long blonde hair ended up hitting him in the stomach (which he could've died from). I get that nurses have hard jobs, and they can get fed up with my dad, but the fact she hit him made me sick.

A few months ago, i was at the hospital due to a mental health crisis. During my overnight stay, the nurses were kind and had good bedside manners. During the next day, i met with a crisis nurse who made me so uncomfortable that i left without permission. When she was asking questions to get background information for the psychiatrist, it felt like i was being softly interrogated. I was asked personal questions that i didn't wanna talk about. When i would answer, she would either make me feel like my problems are my fault... or just stare and leave actual minutes of awkward silence. Anytime i would mention a resource for support, she would shoot it down and criticize it whether or not it helps. This obviously put me in a worse headspace than when i arrived the day before. She was so cold and apathetic that ididn'tt feel like i was talking to a human being. When i left, the hospital started calling me. After i returned, even the security guards had more empathy and compassion than the crisis worker.

A LOT of my hospital visits were both good and bad. There are plenty of good nurses and doctors, but these experiences make it hard to bring myself in because i dont know if I'll get fantastic care or something abysmal. I hope putting my bad experiences here can help or relate to the ones who were wronged by the medical system. Be careful and strongly advocate for yourself and your loved ones.

New C.

Couldn't walk, numbness in foot/ purple ongoing pain up the leg and down the inside of my calf. After 5 hours I ask the doc to explain the cluster of physical knots behind my knee Female doctor with black hair , wouldn't even try to touch or feel the area with a hard ball. Waited for ultrasound results and she comes back at 5 pm and is less than 2 minutes with me to tell me “ we just rule out the baddies and you dont have a blod clot” Then what is it? “ Oh you'll have to go to yr family doctor “ refused to tell me anything more of what it could be or should I put an ice pack on it - nothing like being sent off and told to take Tylenol. Still cant really walk on it and left with no answers at all.

This is the medical system!!!!
Thank you for the worst bed side manner on a Sunny Sunday while we are in pain.

PS if you have patients for that long there should be access to food/ water.

Gurinderdeep S.

A big disappointment. We waited 7 hours to see a doctor but no, there was no one who could look after the patients. There were only 5 people ahead of us from which 2 left and still they couldn’t let us see a doctor and behaviour of nurses is so careless. I believe last thing they care about is the patient. When i asked about why is there long wait for only 4 people the reply i got was “ this is how it goes, you have to wait” we waited from 6:30pm to 1:30am without getting any kind of treatment.

Mark B.

I visited Comox Valley hospital’s emergency ward today in great distress. I was suffering from unbearable pain due to a medical condition that I’ve had for several years but that only flares up occasionally.

I was a pathetic-looking, moaning mess when I limped in to Emergency, which was fairly busy but not completely overwhelmed at the time. Admitting staff took me in quickly and I only had to wait (with about a dozen other admitted patients) for about 10 minutes before a nurse attended to me and started my treatment. I promptly received pain medication (4 times), blood tests, 2 scans and saw multiple nurses, technicians, doctors and orderlies over a period of a few hours.

Staff were consistently very good to excellent with me, in spite of being quite busy. It was easily the most involved and best care I have received in a single hospital visit, including: sympathy for my condition; lots of good questions and answers; good coordination between staff and specialists; reasonably-attentive treatment (considering it was a busy place) ; some smiles and some humour; and repeated visits from the doctor who took the time to read my background information and discuss it with me.

These people work hard and they care. I couldn’t thank them enough. I don’t expect every hospital visit to go this well, but they certainly did a great job in my case. Well done CVH!