Quote:
Originally Posted by lirette
@MonctonRad
As someone who is in the medical field curious on your take on the expected health care announcement for NB that would involve closure of 5 rural hospitals for overnight hours. It seems the expectation will be that folks will need to head to the city hospitals 30-45 minutes away during these times
I am particularly I am seeing a ton of backlash out of Sackville.
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One issue with Sackville is that it is not a full service hospital for emergency medical care in any event. Imaging wise, they can't do anything beyond basic x-rays. If a patient is really ill, and an ultrasound or CT scan is felt necessary for diagnosis, the patient will get hustled into an ambulance and come up to the Moncton Hospital anyway. Same thing for any medical or surgical emergencies. The ER down there is staffed only with family physicians (albeit well trained and capable), but if a patient is unstable or requires urgent surgery, again ambulance transport to the Moncton Hospital is necessary.
If emergency services are scaled back in Sackville, I'm sure there will be a backlash, but I am uncertain there will be any downgrading of medical care to the community as a result.
The hospital in Sackville should be maintained, but it's mission should be altered. I don't have a problem (personally) with scaling back ER services overnight. Maybe the OR down there should also be closed as well. There are no resident surgeons in Sackville. All surgeries are performed by Moncton physicians going down there because of the availability of OR time. As far as inpatient services are concerned, they probably should be maintained, but perhaps the emphasis of the hospital should be more along the lines of long term and palliative care rather than acute care. They could combine the ER with a well staffed Community Health Care Centre, staffed with GPs, nurse practitioners, other health care professionals and social workers. The town of Sackville might even be better off with these changes.
The proviso in all this however is that any services removed from Sackville should be replaced with enhanced services at the Moncton Hospital to make up the difference. If they close the OR down there, then they should open one up here at our hospital. If overnight ER services are terminated down there, then additional funding for our ER should follow, as these patients will be coming up here for service instead.
There would
still be savings to the health care system under such a scenario (efficiencies of scale), and there would be fewer ambulance transfers between the two facilities.
In my ideal scenario for health care delivery in the province, there should be:
1) - three advanced tertiary care hospitals (SJRH, GDH, TMH - the Moncton & Dumont Hospitals combined would equal the SJRH in size and scope of responsibilities)
2) - five standard tertiary care hospitals in Fredericton, Edmundston, Campbellton, Bathurst & Miramichi.
3) - a scattering of secondary care hospitals in places like Caraquet, Sussex and Waterville (no more than five total).
4) - all other hospitals should become Community Health Care Centres, with limited inpatient beds for observation and treatment of moderately ill patients, and attached palliative and long term care facilities.