NANAIMO — A Nanaimo family says they were “horrified” to discover that four hours of medical treatment, a battery of tests, and an overnight stay at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital resulted in a massive bill of $4.75.

“I really don’t know how they expect us to pay this,” said Don Smith. “This is atrocious.”

On Sunday, Mr. Smith he took his 12-year-old son, who was suffering from an acute asthma attack, into the emergency ward. The services provided by NRGH included:

Exhaled nitric oxide test

Triage nurse services

Computerized tomography lung scan

Full panel of chest and sinus x-rays

Administration of emergency inhaler

Consultation with allergist (1 hour)

Full allergy testing on skin with common allergens

Bronchial challenge test

Spirometry testing done by ENT specialist (25 minutes)

Administration of methacholine (methacholine challenge)

Asthma challenge test (20 minutes)

Specialized paediatric lung testing (45 minutes)

A full panel of bloodwork

Peak flow testing

Family services visit

Manual check for nasal polyps or sinusitis

Sputum induction and examination

Gastroesophageal reflux assessment by specialist

Overnight stay in semi-private room

Four meals delivered to bedside

Overnight vitals checked hourly

Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) testing

Referral to ENT specialist

Total cost to the family was $4.75 for parking.

Receipt of NRGH parking provided by the Smith family shows they were charged $4.75 for parking on Sunday.

Campaigning in Ontario this morning, Conservative party leader Andrew Scheer says he plans to fix the problem by requiring that families pay privately for the kind of care the Smith family received. Under that plan, the Smith’s hospital invoice would have been an estimated $158,655. Parking not included.