Surgery wait time and limits to sick pay put the pinch on Nova Scotia man
‘I feel like I’m being held ransom,’ says 62-year-old Steve Rodgers
Steve Rodgers has been waiting as patiently as he can for an essential surgery, but as the months have ticked by, not only has his health declined, the money in his bank account has been dwindling.
Rodgers, 62, has been forced to cut back at work because of his condition, leading to a financial hit, and when he goes in for surgery this fall, money will stop coming in entirely for two months or more.
The situation has Rodgers worried about how he'll make it through the winter with no income, and he blames Nova Scotia's backlogged health-care system for his troubles.
"I feel like I'm being held ransom," Rodgers said in a recent interview at his home in Dartmouth.
Six months ago, Rodgers was ordered by his doctor to reduce his work hours by half. He's suffering from an incisional hernia, a complication from a previous surgery. It's aggravated when he stands up and sits down — movements he sometimes has to make dozens of times a day to do his job as a manager at a used car lot.
Sick pay running out
He's been getting by for the past six months with 50 per cent of his usual salary, plus sickness benefits through Employment Insurance (EI), which makes up about two-thirds of the shortfall.
But that federal program lasts a maximum of 26 weeks, with no possibility of extension, and Rodgers' time is about to run out.
"It's going to be hard to make ends meet through this time," said Rodgers.
Pinching pennies
He said he and his wife may have to live off credit or sell some of their possessions, such as his car, or the family's camper. Rodgers has a vintage coin collection, but he said selling it would be a last resort; he hopes to eventually pass it down to his children and grandchildren.
Managing his coin collection is one of the few hobbies he's been able to maintain as his condition has worsened, since he can do it sitting down, without spending much energy.
"Right now, we're penny pinching as much as we can to hopefully build up a little bit to get us through this," Rodgers said.
The most critical time starts in early November when EI payments will stop. Less than a week later, Rodgers will check into the QEII hospital in Halifax for his operation, which has a recovery time of two months or more. He's hoping to return to work on Jan. 15.
"I've done everything I could to get to this appointment in a timely fashion. Our health-care system dictated that no … you're going to have to wait."
Waiting for over a year
Rodgers' hernia started developing in the spring of 2022, a few weeks after undergoing surgery to fix an abdominal aneurysm. On the advice of a doctor, he spent months wearing a binder — a wide elastic band that wraps snugly around the torso — in the hopes the hernia would resolve itself.
When that failed to work, he was referred in October 2022 to a surgeon who could fix the condition. More than nine months later, he went in for a consultation. He waited another three months to be given a surgery date, and another month will pass before he enters the operating room.
"I'd like to say it was my fault, but it's not. I'm willing and ready to go."
Rodgers has asked for help from provincial and federal politicians, but he said he feels no one will take responsibility because each level of government handles only one of the two services he's mired in. The province handles health care while Ottawa manages sickness benefits.
Officials won't comment on case
CBC News described Rodgers' situation to representatives with both levels of government. Both said they couldn't comment on his specific case.
A spokesperson for Service Canada, which handles EI, noted the federal government recently extended sickness benefits from a maximum of 15 weeks to a maximum of 26 weeks.
They also noted that EI is meant to complement other support programs for workers, including disability benefits through the Canada Pension Plan — a program for which Rodgers doesn't qualify because of the length of time he's expecting to take off work — and provincial programs.
The Nova Scotia Department of Labour, when asked about Rodgers' case, pointed to the requirement under the Labour Standards Code for employers to give workers three unpaid sick days per year.
A spokesperson for the provincial health authority, Nova Scotia Health, also would not comment on Rodgers specific case, but said many factors are considered when managing surgery bookings. Those include whether a patient has post-operative support lined up, how long they've been waiting, their quality of life and how quickly their condition is progressing.
Rodgers said he appreciates that other people are also waiting for surgery, and he isn't looking for pity or special treatment. He's frustrated, he said, that the whole system is bogged down.
"The lack of initiative to get the health-care [system] pushed a little further, a little quicker … it's just not happening."
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