A2 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, January 26, 1994

Rupert gains a surgeo

Minister says he

n

acted _

because locals couldn’t

HEALTH MINISTER Paul Ram-
sey says he ordered the northwest
orthopedic surgical service
moved from Kitimat to Prince

Rupert because regional health
care officials couldn’t agree to do
so among themselves.

The minister said Kitimat, Ter-
race and Prince Rupert hospital
officials even declined an invita-
tion to meet as a group with him
lo reach a solution.

Instead, the minister continued,
each hospital wanted a separate
meeting to promote their side.

Ramsey last week ended up

falling back on a recommendation .-

contained in a 1992 review of
northwest health services.

It said the orthopedic surgical
service, historically located in
Kitimat, be moved to Prince

Rupert to support other medical
services in that city.

Kitimat objected to the recom-
mendation and Tetrace made a
pitch, based on geography and the
presence of other specialty ser-
vices, for the surgeon.

“It wasn’t a popular decision
for some communities in the
northwest,” said Ramsey in an
understatement about the situa-
tion. ;
“There was no regional con-
sensus so I had to make it,”
added the minister. It is to come
into place April 1, 1994.

Ramsey added that be feels
Prince Rupert is the best acces-
sible location for the orthopedic
surgeon to cover the needs of
northwest residents.

In pain because of a pulled
hamstring, Ramsey said the pro-
vince delayed in making a final
decision until it was clear that
northwest hospitals couldn’t work
together. .

“Tf I remember correctly one of
them said, ‘If those guys show
up, we won't,”’’ said Ramsey.

The minister acknowledged that’

the decision was a tough one to
make but did say he had received
a lot of information from the
three northwest hospitals.

Hazelton physician Dr. Peter
Newbery, hired te put into place
the recommendations of the 1992
review, said last fall the
orthopedic surgeon should be
moved to Terrace,

Ramsey promised that Kitimat

Surgeon move irks
Helmut Giesbrecht

HEALTH MINISTER Paul Ram-
scy made a bed decision in
moving the orthopedic surgical
service from Kitimat to Prince
Rupert, says Skeena NDP MLA
Helmut Giesbrecht.

“T still haven’t seen any hard
data to Support the move,’’ Gies-
brecht said last week after Ram-
sey eminounced his decision.

The MLA said the move will
harm the overall capability of the
Kitimat General Hospital to pro-
vide surgical services.

“want something hard, in
wtiling,”” Giesbrecht added of
promises made by Ramsey to
ensure there will be some type of
day surgery available in Kitimat.

The problem, the MLA con-
tinued, is that moving surgeon
Dr. Sean Phalen from Kitimat
reduces the demaud for other
‘ype of, mesial sarees

Kitimat.

In particular, it wilt be hard for
Kitimat’s anesthetist to earn a
living without a resident surgeon,
said Giesbrecht.

“The minister has to come up
with whatever drives the provi-
sion an anesthetist in Kitimat.
Maybe it will have to a guarantee

of being paid as if full time,’’ he:
add

Ramsey is ‘visiting the north-
west next month to talk about
health care issues and Gies-
brecht’s told him to bring a flak
jacket.

Giesbrecht said he would have

preferred the establishment of a.

day surgery service in Kitimat be- . fh also 8%
_ Heed to voice his displeasure in a

letter to Premier Mike Harcourt.

fore Ramsey made the announce-
ment of the orthopedics move.

Giesbrecht discounted the sug-

gestion that the move was due in
part, because Dan Miller, a cabl-

net minister who represents
Prince Rupert, carries political in-
fluence.

*T’'m assured by Ramsey that’s
not the case,’’ said Giesbrecht
who added he did not talk to Mil-
ler about the situation.

As disappointed as Giesbrecht
was by the decision, it wasn’t

., enough for him to consider leav-
‘ing the New Democratic Party

and the government.

“Tm not ready for my 15
minutes of fame and glory and
then ta fade into oblivion, I’ve
still got two years of my job

._ leit,” said Giesbrecht.

The MLA also said there’s no

“IF he doesn’t know already,
he’l] know in the next few days,’’
Giesbrecht said.

RCMP ready to use
hot pepper spray

YOU COUGH, you wheeze and
your eyes bum.

But it’s better than geiting shot.

Terrace RCMP officers are now
equipped with hot pepper spray
as a non-lethal weapon.

The active ingredient is some-
thing called oleoresin capsicum
(OC), a concentrated extract of
hot peppers.

It’s mixed with liquid propel-
lants at 810 per cent rallo,

“It’s a natural derivative of the
pepper plant,’’ says Const. Rick
Ekkel. ‘‘It's totally organic.’”

It was approved for use by the
RCMP last year, but it’s not ex-
actly new.

“T's been around since the

1970s,”? says Ekkel. “We had a ~

fascination with synthetic agents
-— tear gas, mace, We still use
those in spectalized situations,
but for the general duty member,

From front

Sewer

dents can, by petition, turn down
the 12-inch line bylaw.

Thal means the 8-inch Hne can
be viewed os a Cushion against
that possibility.

But, says administrator Marcel-
lin, commercial core property
owners want the §-inch line to go
ahead regardless of approval or
denial of the 12-inch plan.

That's because it could take
years for Thornhill to eventually
hook up to the 12-inch line and
commercial property owners may
want to act sooner.

Meanwhile, there has been
much wrangling about whether to
tax those commercial core prop-
erty owners on the basis of front-
age or assessed value,

Marcellin said no consensus
could be reached before Saturday,
which was the deadline by which
the board had to begin the process
of passing the bylaws, or else
delay the whole project.

So they’ve decided lo put the
problem in the hands of the prop-
erty Owners.

this is the answer — the OC
splay.”
The pepper spray isn’t

propelled by ozone-destroying
chemicals, he said, and is easier
to wash off and recover from.

Most importantly, it provides
police with another weapon to
restrain people without resorting
to firearms.

“It gives us another level of
force other than using deadly
force,’’ Ekkel said,

And it’s effective.

“A jalapeno pepper has about
2,000 heat units,’? Ekkel said.
‘Our spray is about 1 million
heat units, It’s pretty hot.’’

Ekke] knows. He’s felt it,

RCMP officers who undergo
the spray training have a ‘‘strictly
voluntary’’ opportunity to get
sprayed and experience its ef-

fects. Most of them do.

It takes 10 to 45 minutes for
most victims to recover, and the
spray is about 90 per cent effec-
tive.

Detachments across the north
are now trained fo use the spray.

Tt has been used once in Prince
Rupert so. far, and five times in
the Hazelton area.

The spray can be used to sub-
due a suspect resisting arrest, dis-
perse a crowd when other meth-
ods have failed, or against an
animal.

Ekkel says the substance has
been tested on RCMP officers in
Canada who have asthma, al-
lergies or heart condtions, with no
permanent ill effects.

“Out studies found no severe
side effects or medical prob-
lems.’*

would still receive a level of day
Surgery services and that he will
have more to say about that when
he visils the northwest next
month,

Terrace Regional Health Care
Society chairman Lael McKeown
Said she was disappointed by the
decision.

**“This has created a number of
problems in the region and I hope
the (health) ministry is going to
address them as soon as pos-
sible,’? said McKeown.

**The most important is what is
going to happen in Kitimat. In ef-
fect, the ministry has eviscerated
the level of surgical services in
the ‘Terrace-Kitimat corridor,’
she said. . ‘

McKeown added more to Ram-
sey’s version of what happened
when attempts were made to meet
with him to discuss the situation

‘What we got, and it didn’t

come from him but his secretary
or somebody, is that he wouldn’t
meet with us because he didn’t
want to talk about orthopedics,”
said McKcown.
kkkkk

Kitimat General Hospital ad-
Ministrator Linda Coles says
she’s convinced Ramsey never
Tead any of the information back-
ing its case that was sent to him.

“This had nothing to do with
medical care,’’ sald Coles of the
ordered move of the orthopedic
service to Prince Rupert.

She’s also not sure of the status
of a five-year contract the hospi-
tal has with the orthopedic
surgeon, Dr Sean Phalen.

Phalen has declined numerous
requests to indicate if he is will-
ing to move.

It’s not clear if he knows about
Ramsey’s decision, Coles said.

That’s because he was in

Hawaii ona conference last week
and was due to fly to England on
business.

ee eee Pe

ANNUAL.
_GENERAL
MEETING

Tuesday, February 1
, at the
Terrace Public Library
(Basement)
7:00 pm

Everyone Welcome

"1,000"
[REWARD

The Ford family is offering a reward of J
$1,000.00 for any information leading to
the recovery or location of Morris Ford,
missing since November 217, 1993.
Should you have any information please
contact the Terrace R.C.M.P. at 638-0333.

MORRIS FORD

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