Hi folks, I thought I would post a brief synopsis of what happened at the meeting last night for those who were unable to be there with the over 200 people who came (FANTASTIC by the way!). The evening began with Dianne Calvert Simms (CB Health Authority CEO) addressing the rumours. No the hospital will not be closing. No it is not being turned into a long-term care facility. And its pretty clear they know that the Regional cannot function without the support of our community hospitals. They then addressed the ER closures saying lack of trained docs and nurses able to take on shifts, along with stats we all already know about the population of the area. Aging, unhealthy, etc, etc... They addressed the recruitment concerns among a few other things and then opened the floor to questions. This is where they lost the evening, in my opinion. They were ill-prepared for the types of questions we asked. I suspect they were expecting a smaller, older crowd where they would address simple questions about care on the Northside. They werent ready for the more detailed and researched questions we asked. And it showed. They were unable to answer questions about the lack of overnight physician care when there is no doc in the ER. They could not answer questions about the future of the lab services (although, it does seem they are just getting started in addressing this area, so we will await their response on this). They acknowledged that recruitment is difficult in a mobile and competitive market. So when I asked about how recruitment will be successful when were reducing the ability for a physician to provide full service care and diminished lab support, I was met with a blank stare from the CEO. It was a disappointing meeting for sure. Lots of great questions were asked, and they could not provide answers. And I believe by their body language they did not have them. They werent hiding much from us. So... two thoughts as I came home last night after 11pm after sitting and debriefing with others on the community committee that was formed. 1 - They are playing with the cards they have been dealt (as one gentleman said last night). The province gives them their budget, and they are trying their best to to stretch it as far as they can. 2 - They had the meeting too soon. There is still so much up in the air with the consolidation of the health authorities and other plans being rolled out by the province there was little chance they could address the specific concerns that doctors, nurses, lab techs and the public have right now. The future doesnt look bright for us right now. The entire Cape Breton Health Authority has significant challenges before it in recruiting and retaining staff. Also, were not alone in the province in this. This is where writing letters to the ministers office and local MLAs is critical in letting our government know how important health care is to us. They cannot ignore paper. The Health Minister is coming to town on Monday, as we know. He is meeting with many different groups inside the hospital, and he is also letting a few of us from this group attend a session as your representatives. Myself included. We will continue to bring up your concerns as outlined in conversations on this page, and we will continue to press for answers to our greatest concerns. Which all lead to the care of our loved ones on the Northside. Peace and blessings my friends.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 12:06:42 +0000
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