The family of Daniel Underwood says he died in the Weyburn General Hospital alone, in pain, and without compassion.

The 49-year-old Weyburn man was admitted to Ward 3 East of the hospital on Oct. 1, because he was dying after a five-year battle with multiple myloma, a form of cancer. He died alone in his room at around 5 a.m. on Oct. 13.

His family members, who had been keeping vigil at his bedside for the two weeks Underwood was in the hospital, say they and Underwood were continually treated like a nuisance by annoyed nurses on the day and night shifts.

"The overall attitude was irritation with us. There was such a total lack of compassion. It was mystifying," said Underwood's sister, Linda Van Der Wal, who had flown in from B.C. to spend the last days with her brother.

Especially devastating to the family, says Van Der Wal, was the fact that they were not at Underwood's bedside when he died, because they were told to leave the hospital with assurances he would live through the night.

The night that Underwood died, Van Der Wal said her brother was in severe pain because of a bone chip in his foot, and the nurses were irritated because the family was telling them to give him a pain killer.

Underwood's wife phoned his doctor, who administered demerol. The demerol had little effect, and the family asked if Underwood could have morphine - but he was not given the drug because he was allergic to it.

Around midnight, Underwood's two sisters, his wife, and the family's pastor were asked to leave, and told that he wouldn't die that night.

Pastor Larry Remple of the Silver Heights Bible Church had been keeping vigil with the family from 10 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

"Yes, they were definitely told to leave. In fact, I was told to ask them to leave. I was so angry that I had to step outside and cool off," he said.

"It was a very inappropriate response when dealing with the aspect of grieving," said Remple, even if the family had been emotional or unreasonable - which he says was not the case in this situation.

"The Underwood family handled it with real dignity and class, and were amazingly calm in the midst of a very poor situation."

Remple says he "pleaded" with the staff to have Underwood moved into the private palliative care room, which was empty at the time, after being told by nurses that the family was bothering another patient.

"I went and pleaded for a private room. I was told he wasn't going to die. I said 'What if this is the last night?' and their response, very coldly, was 'This isn't going to be his last night, it's okay.'"

The last family member left around 1:30 a.m. When they came back later that morning, they were told Underwood had died. Remple says they found him propped up in a chair in the pastoral room where they had earlier asked he be moved.

"That pushed (the family) over the edge," Remple said. "It wouldn't have been any problem at all for the family to stay there with him. To find him in that room was very hard to handle."

Remple says the nurse who told the family Underwood had died was extremely compassionate and said all the right things to try and ease their pain. "She knew the family had suffered an injustice; she was wonderful," he said.

Van Der Wal says the family also received a compassionate response from Marga Cugnet, vice-president of patient services for the South Central Health District, who told them letters of apology would be sent to each member of the family and that "action was being taken."

Cugnet told the Review she couldn't discuss the events leading up to Underwood's death because of a policy not to release client information.

"We've listened to the family's concerns. I told them I would address them and have had discussions with the staff," she said. "Some of the problems were with communication. I can't say much more. Really my responsibility is we will be addressing the concerns of the family."

Cugnet said to reassure the public, "we do have a palliative care program and our intention is to provide the best care."

Cugnet would not confirm if the family was asked to leave the night Underwood died.

"That's their interpretation of what they were told. They have every right to say whatever they want. I'm bound by confidentiality."

Van Der Wal says the family did not bring this to the public's attention in an attempt to be vindictive, and wants to make it clear they do not intend to sue the hospital.

"We really think it should be addressed, and that the public should know," she said. "We think all who participate in health care should care."