South Surrey senior dies waiting for hospice care, family says he died without dignity

The family of Donald Reagh, a South Surrey senior who died while waiting for hospice care, is sharing his story in hopes other families with vulnerable loved ones will not face what they describe as “deeply dismissive” end-of-life treatment. Reagh was diagnosed with terminal cancer in late June at age 91, after a low-grade cancer he had had for about two decades metastasized to his hip. His family doctor recommended hospice care, but a placement never materialized despite determined efforts by his wife of 68 years, Donna, and their son, Barry.

“ He died alone … in a long-term care facility never designed for active end-of-life care,” Barry said, calling the outcome inconsistent with the best care his father should have received in his final days. Fraser Health officials confirmed in late August that the authority’s Patient Care Quality Office (PCQO) was working to support the family. In an emailed statement, the health authority offered “our heartfelt condolences” but did not address the family’s specific concerns, which include “delay, deflection and disregard.” It said care teams in long-term care communities work with residents and families to support access to compassionate, quality end-of-life care at every step, and to ensure people are physically, emotionally and spiritually comfortable in later life through a palliative approach. Barry disputes that account, describing a roller-coaster of frustration and failures.

When Reagh was diagnosed, he was a temporary resident at a White Rock care home. Barry said a Fraser Health contract guaranteed the placement would continue until a bed became available at one of three preferred long-term care facilities selected by the family. The family’s ordeal began that same month, he said, with alarming news that the care home appeared to be trying to force his father out of the bed he had occupied since late February, contrary to the contract.

“Staff took everything off his walls and was going to put him in a taxi,” Barry alleged. His mother had received word that she had 24 hours to move his father to a care home in Langley. Barry alleged care-home officials were “trying to get rid of everybody that’s subsidized” to make room for private-pay residents. The care home is not currently among the four White Rock facilities on Fraser Health’s list of long-term care service providers.

Barry told PAN that the threat of legal action stopped the transfer. He said the measure was recommended after care-facility management insisted his mother had signed an agreement permitting the move, but refused to provide a copy. The events unfolded as the family was trying to come to terms with not knowing how much time they had left with Reagh. At diagnosis, he was given anywhere from a few weeks to six months to live.

After Reagh fell from his care bed and went to Peace Arch Hospital, Barry said he fought against his father being returned to the White Rock home, “where the owners don’t want him.” His father could not care for himself and needed to be in hospice or remain in hospital, Barry said. He said palliative-care officials assured him his father “undoubtedly” deserved the end-of-life care a hospice provides and was on an “expedited transfer arrangement” for a hospice bed. Still, pressure to return Reagh to the care home continued, and the transfer was ultimately carried out the day after Barry returned to his home in Arizona.

“I was told … that he would not be going back. The day after I left town, they sent him back,” Barry said. He called the move “completely unacceptable” and said his family “absolutely not” should have had to deal with it.

Reagh was transferred to a South Surrey care facility in July. The family waited for a meeting with Fraser Health’s palliative-care team, described as “required,” and approval for a hospice transition. Barry said he personally confirmed beds were available at Melville Hospice Home at the time, but Fraser Health controlled access and he could not arrange the transfer himself. He said health-authority officials told him hospice was “too expensive,” although his father would have contributed 80 per cent of his pension—about $3,500 a month—toward the cost.

By Aug. 1, Reagh was still not on the hospice-care waiting list. Barry said he knew “without a doubt” his father would die without receiving the end-of-life care he deserved. Reagh died at 2 p.m. on Aug. 4.

Barry said on Sept. 28 that memories of his father’s final months continued to weigh heavily and that the family had yet to receive meaningful accountability from Fraser Health. After Reagh was transferred to the South Surrey facility, Barry said he was asked not to contact them again. “That response was … deeply dismissive of the care failures that initially denied, then obstructed, and ultimately refused his transfer to a certified hospice facility,” he said.

Barry described the family’s experience as a road that “remains an ongoing problem for many families in our community.” “This is not one family’s private grief,” he said. “It is a public failure that every resident of this province has a stake in ending. I’m advocating for the survivors or the remaining elderly people. Of course we’re all going to die, but we should die with some dignity and comfort.” He added that it was appalling to think his father’s final days were misery, and hoped that sharing the story could help another family avoid the same experience, offering “some light at the end of the tunnel.”

As of Oct. 5, Fraser Health had not answered PAN’s questions about care-facility contracts and the authority’s hospice-care process. The health authority’s emailed statement concluded: “Our PCQO team remains available to help answer any questions they may have about their loved one’s care.”