NEW WATERFORD, N.S. — Memorials can be found in the unlikeliest of places.
In Steve Drake Jr.’s garage, you’ll find his father’s favourite lumberjack shirt, trademark green cap, his hard hat, coal miner’s check number and tools.
“It’s to honour my father (Steve Drake Sr.),” said Drake Jr., who grew up in New Waterford. “You can’t walk in the door and not instantly see it.”
A six-year fight for answers to his father’s cause of death may have ended, but the hope to make a difference for others is continuing.
In part one of this story, Drake Jr. told how he spent six long years fighting the Cape Breton District Health Authority — later amalgamated as part of the Nova Scotia Health Authority —regarding the incorrect cause of death of his father, who died on Nov. 12, 2012.
Drake Jr. had made a promise to his father that when his father died he’d see to it that his lungs were autopsied — his father was a former coal miner, so they both knew how working in the pits affected miners’ quality of life and led to their struggles with the Worker’s Compensation Board.
On March 2, 2016, following the Drake Sr. death investigation, the report from medical examiner Dr. Matt Bowes’ was released, with complications of C. difficile diarrhea with simple coal workers pneumoconiosis listed as contributing to his death.
It wasn’t until Aug. 21, 2018 that the WCB conceded that a workplace lung condition contributed to the death of Drake Sr. and then on Feb. 6, 2019, the NSHA conceded and amended the cause of death on his father’s death certificate.
But Drake Jr. wasn’t finished. Along his six-year journey he said he identified gaps and deficiencies in the NSHA system on post-death care. The fight continues, but down a different path. Now he wants to see things changes.
READ PART 1: A Cape Bretoner's promise to his coal miner dad fulfilled after 6-year battle with health authorities, workers compensation
Rolling out changes
Drake Jr. said gaps in the CBDHA’s system — that continued with the NSHA — including in post-death care and record-keeping, as well as lack of proper staff training and education on available autopsy options and legal obligations for death notification under provincial statutes.
He said the NSHA has informed him two teams are now in place, working on a fix for the gaps and deficiencies he encountered.
“That’s when they told me they are revising the post-death health-care system in Nova Scotia — I was quite happy about that,” he said. “They are going to fix them, provincewide.”
Drake Jr. said the health authority has advised him some changes are being rolled out now and further changes will take place over time.
“What I know right now is that they have teams in place to roll out a completely new system across the province,” he said.
“My view now is that as long as the process is delayed, people are at risk in this province.”
Drake Jr. said it would be easy for the authority to start with smaller steps. He said an education program is needed with hospital staff on the difference between a clinical and a forensic autopsy. He said his father got a clinical one when it should have been a forensic one at the medical examiner’s office.
Drake Jr. said his problem is that these and other gaps are still in the system. He said any component that they could be expediting, should be expedited immediately.
“As long as this system is allowed to exist as it does, then people in Nova Scotia are at risk.”
Siblings
Drake Jr’s brother Patrick said it’s a horrible thing to lose a parent under preventable conditions due to hospital negligence.
“But to try and cover it up not only shows complete disrespect to our father, but to other families like ours who were callously swept under the carpet in the past,” he said. “Those days are hopefully over as they ran into the wrong guy — the proud son of a 40-year coal miner.”
Sister Sherry Drake said their brother spent the past six years researching all the details and evidence surrounding the misdiagnosis of their dad's cause of death.
Regardless of the numerous brick walls and closed doors he encountered along the way, true to form, he dug his heels in for the battle, she said.
“Steve took on Goliath and won." - Sherry Drake
Sherry said she is happy to see that the NSHA, after many attempts to deny, has now properly documented the exact, and now official, cause of their dad's death.
“We are all very proud of the time, effort and determination Steve has given to obtain this closure,” she said. “Steve took on Goliath and won."
Drake Jr. is happy the ordeal is over and still talks about it when he visits his father’s gravesite. The memories will never fade of the man who wasn’t much for cooking, but loved boiled dinner and Chinese food. A man who liked to watch professional wrestling and the old spaghetti Westerns — especially Clint Eastwood reruns — and was noted for being a very talented storyteller.
Drake Jr. said he’ll always be sad about what happened to his father as he feels he died prematurely. But he senses his father in heaven, smiling down on him.
“He’s up there saying, ‘You did it buddy,’” he said. “That makes me happier than anything else could. I kept my promise.”
Accurate reflection
Colin Stevenson, vice-president of health services, quality and system performance, said, due to privacy laws, he is unable to speak specifically on care or services regarding a specific individual. But, he said, he can confirm the medical examiner’s report has been added to Drake Sr.’s file. He said it’s important there is an accurate reflection of cause of death on the patient’s record.
“That is something we ensured was happening to the satisfaction of Mr. Drake,” he said.
Stevenson said, as a result of the early investigation and some of the work Drake Jr. did with them, the health authority was able to already make some changes to processes and procedures within the lab in the eastern zone, including the Cape Breton Regional Hospital. He said some changes include how staff sent out lab specimens if they need to go to another lab within the province. He said sometimes that does happen, so the authority changed the procedure to ensure it’s not dependent on a single individual.
As well, he said, there is now a regular send out, with specimens being sent out on a weekly basis instead of being held for any extended period of time. There are also issues around shipping containers, making sure they are there and are identified in the sense of where they go from a referral site. There is also improved documentation now in place for receiving and sending out any post-mortem specimens.
“The team is looking at best practice and might take what’s been done in the eastern zone and move it across the province.”
Stevenson said Drake Jr. also emphasized concerns on being able to get an autopsy completed and the appropriacy of the autopsy.
He said autopsies are the responsibly of pathology and lab services. The NSHA has pathologists — medical doctors — who are part of their organization and service group that provide that service.
Gaps identified
As a result of Drake Jr.’s case, Stevenson said, one of the gaps identified is ensuring the right autopsies are referred to the medical examiner.
“We want to make sure that’s something everyone is aware of, what is a medical examiner case and what isn’t. To make sure we have the right process and education in place, so the right cases are referred."
But it’s then up to the medical examiner as to whether they accept the case or not, he added.
“We don’t influence it; that’s the medical examiner’s decision.”
"During the six years when I was fighting for answers, the coverup became worse than the crime.” - Steve Drake Jr.
He said one area staff are still talking to Drake Jr. about is post-death care around family. They are looking at enhancing support services though use of their palliative care program, as well as other services to help staff understand how to use support for next of kin. He said there’s still some work needed in standardizing those practices across the province.
Part of any process and procedure is ensuring staff is educated in such a way that they feel confident of being able to carry out that care, Stevenson added.
Stevenson admits it’s taking a protracted period of time as an organization and all the concerns haven’t been addressed yet.
He said some changes have been underway for a period of time. Some have been able to happen quicker, while others are still occurring.
“I’ve apologized to Mr. Drake for how long it has taken to get answers and some of these things resolved,” he said. “All the things we want to do as an organization we haven’t been able to do yet.
“We will be continuing to work with Steve and getting his perspective on whether the changes address the situation he experienced.”
Staying the course
Drake Jr. says he’s not going anywhere, noting that, while the CBDHA is where the mistakes occurred, the coverup happened when the NSHA took over.
“When I started getting answers and got Dr. Bowe’s report, the doors at the NSHA were slammed in my face,” he said.
He said the NSHA perpetuated the myth that his father died of something other than C. difficile and his lungs.
“During the six years when I was fighting for answers, the coverup became worse than the crime.”
Drake Jr. said he’ll be waiting and watching to see that the NSHA keeps the promise it made.
READ PART 1: A Cape Bretoner's promise to his coal miner dad fulfilled after 6-year battle with health authorities, workers compensation
