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Ad Terrace Review —

Wednesday, September 26, 1990

Noe

Care to the ne people, or people to the care?

On Sept. 5 the Royal Commission
on Health Care and Cosis held
hearings in Terrace. This is the
third and final instalment by Ter-
race Review reporter Tod Strachan
on the local viewpoints submitted
to the commission and the commis-
Sioners’ reaction to the problems
and suggestions for solutions from
the Northwest.

It was suggested that the cost of
travel for medical reasons should
be included as a part of the treat-
ment under the Medical Services
Plan. And this may not be difficult
to justify. Which is cheaper? Buil-
ding a cancer clinic in every com-
munity
example, or paying for the trans-
portation of those needing the
services of a single provincial
centre?

Kitimat General Hospital’s board
chairman talked about problems in
equipment funding, manpower
recruitment and added his own
thoughts to the problem of trans-
portation costs for remote patients.
He also discussed labour relations,
the need for preventative medicine
and the role of the Regional Hos-
pital District. .

And he added something a little
different for the commission to
consider. The trend in the medical
community today is towards
greater and greater specialization,
something that is encouraged by

institutions like the University of |

B.C. But besides creating a staff-
ing disaster in northern com-
munities this trend often adds to
the cost of medical care. In small
northem communities, we often
need only one general practitioner.
But they’re not available. Instead,
if you can find them, let alone
convince them fo move ito the
north, you need to hire a number
of specialists. This is a problem,
says Burmett, that UBC must
address.

Elaine Pigeau and Cindy Russell
talked on behalf of the Hospital
Employees Union and listed as
their primary
privatization and contracting-out of
HEU members’ work. As an
example, they described privatized
food services at Kitimat General.
At one time, they said, locally
purchased foods were "prepared
from scratch". Now, according to
Russell, they are offered "frozen,
prepackaged, premeasured and
precooked" foods purchased from
Vancouver which are often "un-
identifiable".

- This reduction in the quality of

service is where privatized com-

panies earn their profit, Russell
claimed, and told the commission,

. "Health care is for people, not for
profit.”

* Russell continued by describing
the: inadequacies of Kitimat Gene-

tal, particulary in intermediate and

extended care, and the difficulties

caused by a shortage in staffing —

ail problems, according to Pigeau

_ and Russell, that could be solved if
. hospital’ boards were elected by the
am public a at lange ax and adequate fund

ing was offered by the province.
Other presentations came from
the Kitimat Child Development
Centre, which called for the expan-
sion of the Family Support Worker
Program; the Health Science Asso-

philosophy may provide the Royal
Commission with the direction it

needs; prevention is cheaper than :

the cure.

This isn’t teally compatible with
the system today, however. Annual
checkups are discouraged; you’re
not supposed to visit the doctor
until you have a complaint. A
heart attack or stroke, for example.
And this is a system. that was
designed by the province to elimin-

ciation of Kitimat, which com- ate unnecessary visits and therefore

cut health care costs.

This may change, though. Per-
haps it's cheaper to give everyone
a free annual checkup and put
them on medication before they

‘need the services of intensive care.

And as far as trave! is concerned,
it may be cheaper to pay for that
as well. It's an alternative to meet-
ing the rural demand that more and
more technologies be established
in individual communities.

If you would like to make a

submission to the Royal Commis-
sion on Health Care and Costs, it’s

not too late. The deadline for-our -
15. Submissions —

area is Oct.
Should include your name and
address and the date and can be
addressed to the Royal Commis-
sion on Health Care and Costs, 9th
Floor, 1285 W. Pender St,
Vancouver, B.C. V6E 4B1. Your
submission can also be faxed to
660-1098. For more information,
phone 660-0165.

in the province, for

complaint.

plained of the centralization of
services; the local branch of the
Canadian Physiotherapy Associa-
tion; Terrace and District Com-
munity Services, which described
the need for strategic planning and
staff training in the north; Dr.
Richard Lutz, who described prob-
lems in the delivery of chiropractic
series in the north; the Kitmano
chapter of the Registered Nurses
Association of B.C., which dis-
cussed the recruitment and reten-
tion of staff; and Ellen Bentham,
president of the Terrace chapter of
the RNABC, who offered a private
submission describing psychologi-
cal problems facing nurses in B.C.

The final report of the Royal
Commission on Health Care and
Costs isn’t expected to be com-
pleted until late next year and
solutions to the problems presented
here aren’t going to be easy to
find. Justice Peter Seaton was
asked, for example, if he believed
they could reconcile the differences
between health care and costs. His
answer: "I’m confident we can’t.”

One of the primary problems, he
explains, is that as the medical

community develops new treat-

ments the public expectation for
health care increases. This is a
trend that can’t continue unless
we're prepared to spend a lot more
money to access promising new

‘ techniques, says Seaton, but health

care costs are already astronomical
— something like $550,000 per
hour in the province of B.C.

But there may be another way of
looking at things, he suggests.
"Good health isn’t as expensive as
bad health... If we’re made well

promptly, it’s cheaper." And this ©

Tom McCogian, head of the concession committee for the Terrace Centennial Lions, got the
honour of presenting $1,000 he was instrumental in raising to Dr. Alex Enriquez, representing the
Dr. R.E.M. Lee Hospital Foundation, Sept. 20. The contribution will go into a fund for buying Mills
- Meorial Hospital a C.T. scanner. The Downtown Lions donated $500 to Camp Squamish, a Lions
facility for disadvantaged children, on the same evening. Lions District Governor Monty Jang was

- present to accept the donation.

5 p.m.

“ONLY A

Terraceview Lodge
presenis its

Annual Harvest Dinner
‘Sunday, September 30th, 1990

Terraceview Lodge
“Everyone is Welcome to Attend”

_ TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE”

=e;
gud

a
6 a
Se

|

at the

LIMITED NUMBER OF

Adults: $10.00
Seniors & Children
(6-12 years): $7.50

f Children (under.
6 years): $5.00

WORD OF MOUTH

presented by
College of Dental Surgeons of B.C.

DENTAL SPECIALISTS

To practise general danilstry in British Columbia, students are required
to complete four years of intensive education at a dental school after
taking three to four years of sciences at a college or university. Howaver,
there ara still circumstancas where extra knowledge, skill and tralning are
needed to treat particular dental problems and hance the rise of the dental
specialist.

Dental specialists require an additional two to three years of schooling
in thelr chosen field. Your need for a specialist will depend on the
complexity of the dental problem and your dentist, since general dental
practitioners treat many of the same problems as specialists. However,
while the general practitioner Is familiar with all facits of dentistry, the
specialist has the skills and instrumentation to better care for non-routine
situations.

The following Is a list of some of the dental specialists, for your
information:

Orthodontists: Correct crowding of the teeth which affect a person’s
bite; sometimes alter the size and relationship of the Jaws.

Periodontists: Treat diseases of the gums and bone supporting the
teeth (often through surgery).

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons: Performsurgery on the testh andjaws,
including extraction of troublesome wisdom teeth, and frequently treat
fractured Jaws caused by accidents. Oral surgeons receive additional
tralning in sedation and general anesthetic techniques.

Endodontists: Treat root canals, Including procedures that Involve surgically
ramoving the end of the root of a tooth when required.

dentures or full dentures. They may also construct crowns for badly
damaged teeth. Some prosthodontists now place dental implants,
working In conjunction with other specialists,

serious dental problems, or when there are patlent management or
behavioural problems,

Although the majority of dental treatment can be handled routinely by a
general dentist, it’s nice to know that there is help avallable In the cases
where it’s really needad.

‘Information within is ‘not intended to diagnose or plen treatment; readers
should consult their dentat for individual dental care. Readers’ queations are

welcome. Please write: Word of Mouth, College.of Dental Surgeons of B C,
Suite 500, 1765 W. Sth Ave., Vancouver, B.C, V6J 5Cé

Prosthodontists: Speclallze in replacing lost teeth with bridges, partial

‘Pedodontists: Provide dentistry. for children, especially In cases of |

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