Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 19, 1992 — Paga A3 EMERGENCY room nurse Pat Surtees removes Ken Gill's cast Doctors don't have cast saws in their offices, Health care is not free TERRACE — While slicing potatoes for dinner, you give yourself a nasty cut on your thumb, Your first thought is likely to be, ‘I’d better go to emergency and get this stilched.’ But what if that nasty wound were instead a paper cut?, What would your first thought -be— then? “I've had people come in here with a paper cut,’’ said Laurie Dahms, head nurse of the emergency room al Mills Memorial Hospital. The frus- tralion she feels is evident in her voice. “People come in here regu- larly with bug bites,” she said, “We can do nothing for those people. They calamine lotion on at home.” Dahms estimates 20 to 25 per cent of the $763,000 emer, geucy room budget can be at- tributed lo non-emergency cases. That amount is approximate- could = put ly one-third of, the $525,000. deficit which caused lay offs and bed closures at the hospital this year. . Emergency room use has es- calaled ever since the federal government eliminated user fees for hospital emergency rooms in 1986, ‘said Mills Memarial .. administrator Michael Leisinger. ‘Last year we saw just under 20,000 patients in | emer- gency,” .said Dahms. ‘‘Five years ago we .were secing 10,000-12,000 patients a year, Thal’s an 80-100 per cent in- crease in the last five to six years — with no increase in . staff.’ Both Leisinger and Dahms attribute much of this increase _to the public's perception that medical care is free. A visit to the emergency room is not.free, and typically cosls a great deal more than a visit to a doctor. Taking into account what a doctor bills the medical ser- vices plan (MSP) ; for treating a patient in the emergency room, Leisinger estimates the average cost to the health care system is $100 a visit. In comparison, the average fec per service when a patient visits a doctor's office is $26. Emergency rooms are eX- pensive ta operate because they are open 24 hours a day, aud doctors charge more for late night or early morning Visits. “‘A person who’s had a cold for five days and suddenly on . Saturday night at 11:00 de- cides they’re going to do something about it — that’s the kind of thing that just drives us nuts,”” said Leisinger. Under the Hospilal Act, no one. can be turned away from the emergelcy room. “But I don’t want people to make the wrong choice, and don’t come in when. they should,’ he emphasized. ‘The hospital emergency room is al- ways there, but please use it with care."”” A 1991 review of Mills Memorial hospital’s finances and operations revealed some doctors were using ihe emer- gency room as a second office. When a palient visits a doc- tor in his or her office, the doc- tor bills the MSP for the visit, and out of that fee, pays for rent, supplics, and a recep- tionist. If a doctor arranges to meet a patient in the cmer- gency room, the taxpayer picks up the tab for the overhead. ‘There is a certain amount of doctor abuse. It’s a con- venience thing — secing a patient at the hospital,’? said Leisinger. ‘“But we're working to reduce the amount of emer gency use by physicians.” Many physicians have agreed to meet patients in the ‘hospi- tal’s consultant rooms if they want to sec them outside of normal office hours. The doc- tors then wse their own sup- plies and staff. But two doctors’ offices here don’t have wheelchair access. News in brief | Liberal leader visits tomorrow COUNT ’EM, Not one, not three but five Liberal Members of the Legislative Assembly will have made an appearance bere by the time summer has ended. . It began in June when party municipal affairs critic Art Cowie and transportation critic Doug Symons paid a vis}! to Prince Rupert and Terrace. And it continues this Thursday ‘when Liberal leader Gordon Wil- son speaks to a Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce lun- cheon. He’ll be accompanied by Dan Jarvis, the parly” $ energy, mines and petroleum resources critic.” ™ Also in the, area will be allommey-general critic Allan Wamke. He’s doing double duty because the party has given him the job of keeping in touch with the three ridings in the northwest — North Coast, Skcena and Bulkley Valley-Stikine, , Leader Wilson has a‘ full agenda waiting when he arrives in the northwest for his first visit since Last fall’s provincial election resulted in the party becoming the official opposition. In addition to Terrace, he’s visiting Prince Rupert, Kitimat and Smithers. Wilson is also scheduled to have dinner with the Nisga’s, Tribal Council bere, will visit the Nass Valley and will spend time in the Hazeltons with the Gitksan and Wel’suwet’ cn. He’s also ithe parly’s critic for aboriginal affairs. Taxes going up in smoke VISITORS TO the province’s parks and campgrounds this sum- mer will have noticed bright yellow metal basket arrangements at- lached to wood pile enclosures. Fhat’s to cut down on the amount of wood being burned, says lo- cal parks program interpreter Greg McDonald, Parks officials estimate the people using cach campsite burn all average two cords of wood over the season. There are 390 provin- cial campgrounds in the province containing 11,000 campsites. At two cords a piece, that’s 22,000 cords being burned, What parks officials want people to do is fill up one of the basket attachments. They estimate that amount is sufficient for one day’s burning. . McDonald says the less wood thal is burned means Ws. parks officials can reduce the amount of money they’re spending on supplying fuel for all of the cainpgrounds. Paying those politicians AND HOW imuch should Members of the Legislative Assembly get paid? The provincial government bas appointed a commission ‘ta consider the question and it wants to hear from members of the public, ‘ A provincial MLA now gets ant annual salary of $32,812 a year, plus a tax-free expense allowance of $16,405 for a total of $49,218. MLAs also get a. healthy benefils package and those who serve more than seven years or through two elections also get a pension plan. The premier receives ‘an additional $45, 000 while cabinet minis- ters, the Speaker and. the opposition leader receive an additional $39,000 ayear. C.J, Connaghan, hired to. ‘conduct the pay ‘review, can be con- tacted at Review. of MLA Renumeration,, Suite 510-789: West Pender St., Vancouver, B.C, V6C 1H2. 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