Missing surgeons has effect on local patients, says doc THERE’S A growing list of local people who can’t get orthopedic surgery done because specialist positions in Prince Rupest and in Kitimat remain vacant, says a local doctor, Dr. Geoff Appleton says he has nearly 10 such cases himself and, based on that, puts the figure in Terrace and area into the three digits when the cases of other physicians are factored in. . “There’s got to be a couple of hundred people and that’s just Terrace,”’ he said, Appleton says his cases are not critical but do apply to . From front Surgical debate share call (the system where one specialist is always on standby in case of an emergency) and to plan vacations.” Slater said the consolidation recommendation has been made ‘‘in the form of a pretty strong message’’ from the health ministry to the community health council in Kitimat which runs medical services there. And she said the health ministry is conducting.a review on orthopedics in the northwest to determine what makes the most sense. Kitimat health care official say they have yet to be offi- cially informed of the ministry’s position and that they are still actively looking for a replacement orthopedic surgeon. “The ministry needs to be upfront with the health coun- cil, and for it to interfere now could really have a negative impact on regional planning,’’ said Pamela Seitz, the ac- ting chief executive officer of the Kitimat community health council. ‘‘T would suggest the ministry doesn’t want us to recruit an orthopedic surgeon.” Seitz said community health councils can work things out between themselves without having the ministry in- volved. Regional co-operation can work when it comes to on-call duties and holidays‘even if one surgeon is in Kitimat and one is in Prince Rupert, she added. Having those communities recruit together to present a regional orthopedic plan to potential replacements is an option, said Seitz, AD) McDonald’s Kids Camp WE’‘RE OPEN!!! McDonalds Kids Camp (6-14 years) Christmas Break & Spring Break yea $120/3 days . anes (includes lift ticket; rental arid 2.5 hour lesson each day). McDonalds bus leaves McDonalds \ parking lot 8am returns 4pm - $10,00 improving the quality of life of his patients. Should patients decide lo go elsewhere for procedures, they face a financial burden, he said. —" ‘Prince George is nat an option for elective stuff as they have troubles of their own,’’ said Appleton. “‘And that means going down south but the problem with that is you have to go down Girst and somebody says ‘yes, you need orthopedic surgery.’ You may have to go four or five times and go on a waiting list for two or three months and that gets expensive,”’ he added, Appleton is the northern representative on the B.C. Medical Association board. He favours basing the region’s two orthopedic surgeons in Terrace and arranging for them to make regular surgical visits to Kitimat and to Prince Rupert. He’s been joined in that call by other specialists based in Terrace, The suggestion is the same as was the case in the carly 1990s when Kitimat had trouble recruiting an orthopedic surgeon. “Kitimat isn’t professionally altractive as there is no backup of other specialists and there’s no CT scan or nuclear medicine on the doorstep,” said Appleton. Yet even If the orthopedic surgery service was located in Terrace, incasures would still have to be taken to safeguard services in Kitimat, said Appleton, Over the years the hos- pital has relied on having an orthopedic surgeon on staff to support other kinds of services. One such example is an anesthetist with the result that caesarean sections can also be done in Kitimat. “Tf you lose an anesthetist, you lose the ability to do c-' sections and that can be a real dilemma in a small town,” said Appleton. ‘‘So what our guys are suggesting is that if there were orthopedics based in Terrace, there would be regularly-scheduled (surgical) days in Kitimat ta keep those other services there.”” Appleton said il hasn't made much sense over the years for Terrace to be regarded as a major trauma centre yet be without an orthopedic surgeon. **The patient would come here, be stabilized and then shipped to Kitimat to have their bones fixed. It has not made an awful lot of sense,” he said. Having two orthopedic surgeons in the same city would also help when it comes to sharing on-call duties, Appleton added. 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