No excuse not to fund needed health-care resource
Sep 04, 2008 - 10:41 AM
The Province should provide the necessary funding to enable the Dialysis Management Clinic in Pickering to operate at full capacity, benefiting patients in west Durham and the entire region.
Of the many health-care issues facing Durham and Ontario as a whole, some are complex, defying quick fixes. But others, such as the clinic utilizing just eight of its 12 dialysis machines, are head-scratchers, seemingly simple to solve.
The clinic is open three days, three nights and one morning a week and, due to limited government funding, only two-thirds of its dialysis machines can operate at once. It has 24 patients, but 27 more are on a waiting list and must travel to Lakeridge Health in Oshawa or even out of the region for dialysis.
"I have people coming in crying, asking 'why are you operating a clinic half-full'?" said Igal Holtzer, the clinic's chief executive officer.
You don't have to tell Joy Walton.
For seven months the Pickering woman used to make the trek by bus to Lakeridge Health Oshawa, a regimen that ate up about seven hours per day of her time three days a week. The bus trips and the dialysis, which she says generally leaves patients "really tired," together drained her batteries so much that she would basically just recover from the ordeal on non-treatment days.
Fortunately, after more than half a year of travelling to Oshawa, she got off the Dialysis Management Clinic waiting list and now receives treatment in her own community.
While it might not be financially feasible to have such clinics in every community, surely Durham's population could easily support two or three. Yet, it has one, and even that clinic isn't funded to operate at full capacity.
Local representatives, and specifically in this case, Pickering-Scarborough East MPP Wayne Arthurs, need to do more for their constituents. Mr. Arthurs, in speaking with the News Advertiser, said he plans to speak with Health Minister David Caplan and that he "can continue to advocate on (Mr. Holtzer's) behalf." Mr. Arthurs must do more than just advocate, he must get a firm commitment that the clinic will receive the necessary funding to operate at capacity.
Just more a month ago, the Province announced $741 million in new funding for a diabetes strategy. Mr. Arthurs needs to do his best to ensure that his government spends this money wisely and that it makes a difference in the lives of people such as Ms. Walton and, especially, the 27 people who could be accessing a local clinic but are unable to.
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