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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1993-12-01, Page 3On the medical scene Must address emergency services by Mike Robinson Emergency medical services in rural areas is an issue which will need to .be addressed sooner than later, says Dr. Pat Conlon. Conlon is a psychiatrist at G.oderich's Alexandra Marine Hospital and president of the Huron County Medical Society. Conlon was surprised at 'how highly publicized and politicized the issue is in the county and the province since he felt it was an issue smoldering for a long time. He said the most impact will be in emergency medical coverage in rural areas and small community hospitals with less than 100 beds or where the volume of service is less than 20,000 emergency room patients per year. Rural VS. Urban Care Things are different in rural ver- sus urban area hospitals, said Con- lon. In rural areas, emergency room service only makes up part of the workload for the family prac- titioner, whereas urban centre hospitals may employ full-time emergency room physicians. He added the volume of service in the emergency rooms is also far different for rural and urban hospitals. Conlon said there are a number of factors to consider for rural physicians, such as it is no longer desirable for them to be workaholics -- to the exclusion of everything else. But the same needs and services are still required and increasing., That means rural physicians are' being stretched to the limit. Conlon said the issue came to a head because of the Social Contract Pay freeze for county councillors There will be no pay raise in 1994' for Bruce County councilors, the warden or the weed inspector. Travel and meal allowances have also been held to the 1993 levels. Finance vice -chair David Thom- son cited "economicconditions and the Social Contract" in his report calling for salaries and benefits for non-union employees to stay at 1993 levels. Thomson said the salary grid is usually linked to the September Consumer Price Index, which would have meant a 1.9 per cent pay hike. "Consideration wa§ given to main- taining current jobs for our employees, and to holding the mill. rate at its present level," Thomson said, at county council's November 16 session, in support of flat -lining non-union salaries. SESSION MOVED ____Eor_theinsuirae in many years, the inaugural session of Bruce. County council will not be held at the Walkerton Community Centre. Warden Carman Fullerton said the session has been moved to the Knights of Columbus hall south of Walkerton because that facility is wheelchair accessible. limiting doctor billing under ()HIP. He said rural doctors face longer •hours and larger caseloads, but hospitals were never funded by the province to pay for doctors' wages. "It (this issue) pits the doctors against hospital boards." He said the issue has not just arisen in Huron, but across. the province in 100 community hospitals. Specialty physicians cannot always fill the gap since some doctors (such •as psychologists) lack the training to meet the standards required for some emergency room procedures. Conlon said part of the issue is that a province -wide solution has not be achieved. Local hospital boards are left in the position of having to deal with the issue in the short term. He said three of Huron's hospitals (Seaforth, Clinton and Exeter) achieved local solutions and things appear optimistic in Goderich and discussions are underway at the Wingham and District Hospital. Communities must make some decisions and prioritize emergency services within overall health care to determine resource allocations, Conlon said. "Hospitals can no longer be all things to all people and provide `Cadillac' service to everyone." He suggested District Health Councils might be the venue in which solutions can be talked about. At the same time, he felt it would be wrong to only look at the small perspective (the provision of emer- gency medical services) without looking at health care provision as a whole. It was noted Exeter's solution was to pay doctors a $70 per hour on call rate which could add up .to $200,000 to that hospital's budget. Conlon said the flat rate was proposed since it was felt that the fee for service would not ade- quately compensate doctors to be on call. Conlon suggested providing 24- hour " emergency service at all hospitals may no longer be cost effective. • One . of those attending the meeting felt one of the main issues was the non -emergency use of emergency rooms and that doctors should be saved for "true emergen- cies." Conlon said when the crunch is on, this type of use may actually take dollars away from other medical services provided by hospitals. Rationalization of gervices is something which must be examined as a whole, said Conlon. He sug- gested one solution might be that certain hospitals might be better at providing certain functions, noting the Goderich hospital expertise in 'psychiatry.. • Although Conlon noted threats to strike at both the Exeter and Goderich hospitals, he saidthese have been acts in isolation. What is required, he said, is a global approach to delivering health care. "Make no mistake it is an issue that needs to be dealt with sooner than later," he said. Seek local solution by Mike Robinson A solution is in the works' for the provision of emergency medical services at Wingham and District Hospital. The issue is under discus- sion at a joint board of the hospital's board of governors. In the executive director's report, hospital CEO Lloyd Koch said The province -wide issue of emergency room coverage and . physician demands for top -up payments to provide that coverage is a major concern. He said a joint board -staff was created to look into the issue with its first meeting on Nov. 22. OPP's Phonebuster. Project nabs four Quebec residents Investigators from Project Phonebusters have charged four Quebec residents with fraud after telephone solicitations between May 1, 1991 and Sept. 30 1993. At least one local couple was among the estimated 1,000 victims across Canada who lost a total of $1 million dollars through alleged telephone misrepresentation. A typical scenario involved . a person being told they had won a vehicle but to claim it, they had to • send a cheque to cover the cost of taxes and shipping and handling. A Point Clark couple had received similar calls last fall and sent money for a vehicle they never received. OPP Constable Pat Gonzalez sent information from his investigation to the OPP anti=rackets branch who were a part of the Project Phonebusters. Also involved in the project were the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Montreal Urban Police, Industry and Science Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations, Alberta Housing and Consumer Affairs and the Canadian Bankers' Association. Four people from Montreal have been charged with fraud over $1,000 and conspiracy to commit fraud. They have been associated with four companies: Ivan Endeavours,, Fantasy Productions, Great Dane Promotions and a numbered com- pany; 2827654 Canada Inc. According to an OPP press release, investigators estimate telemarketing fraud nets, operators millions of dollars each year. Companies are mainly centred in Montreal and various cities in the United States and routinely target Canadians with a variety of pitches. If people are suspicious of a telemarketer, they can forward information , to DWS7Sgt - Bar Elliott, North Bay OPP, 320 Airport Road, North Bay, P1B 8W9. A statement outlining what was promised and what, if anything, was received, should be sent to the police as well as any originally documentation. Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, December 1, 1993 — Page 3 CHRISTMAS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER! • MILDMAY CHEESE HAUS 1. dr will create a Cheese Tray for your holiday Entertaining * Gift certificates Available* GIFT IDEAS • Cheese. Baskets • CheesedBoxes • Nut Packs Mildmay 367-2678 WINTER IS HERE! CHRISTMAS IS COMING! 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