Dear Editor:
Having spent time in Lions Gate Hospital in December and January, I totally disagree with the Jan. 18 letter, More Nurses Would Improve LGH Care. Seems to me, living on the North Shore, has given writer Joanne Penney a heightened sense of self-entitlement. She asks for extra nurses, yet, in three days, she was cared for by six nurses.
The complaint about the food being absolutely awful and no menu made me remember my time as a nurse in war time Britain more than 70 years ago. All food was rationed, so patients' relatives brought them some of their own rationed food in paper bags. Slices of Spam, pig's trotters, horsemeat shepherd's pie - delicious!
During the time I was in Lions Gate, first of all in the emergency ward, a wonderful group of young, efficient, intelligent male and female nurses cared for me. I was then transferred to a small nook in the first aid treatment ward, nurses run off their feet night and day. I was on a gurney, as were the other patients, very comfortable, excellent food and constant activity. New Year's Day arrived, and between announcements over the loudspeaker, came a lady wishing us a happy new year and a clock was chimed. I thanked God for this place I was in, maybe the best hospital in British Columbia.
Jessie H. Tompkins West Vancouver
