A16- The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 18, 2000 Eye money under spotlight as Shaver aligns with docs ! STEVEN SHAVER is meeting with health council officials this week to gauge the impact of a $40,000 in- crease in cye surgery SUp- plies. The ophthalmologist had threatened to leave unless the council increased the supply budget by just over $100,000. for .a.total.: of $175,000. The new money is to last from December, when the current budget runs oul, until the end of the fiscal: year, March 31, 2001. It means Dr. Shaver can perform eight cases - an-in- crease of one — for the one operating room day he has each week. The $40,000 was just one of (wo service increases announced by the Terrace and Area Health Council last week as part of its new budget. Another $56,000 will be spent to increase the CT scanning service from four days a week to five days a week, Shaver and others have argued that since people from outside Mills Memor- ial Hospital’s coverage area come here for eye surgery, the provincial government should treat it as a regional service and allocate monies separate from the budget for Mills alone. The province does pro- vide some money for oph- thalmology but it isn’t nearly enough to cover the cost of the service here. Last year the health council spent $220,000 on eye surgery supplies and operating room wages, the majority of which came from the council’s budget for Mills, tt had committed itself to spending the same amount this year. So this year’s increase of $40,000 brings the total to $260,000, ~ The problem dates back to..1995 when.a smali eye clinic was moved: from Wrinch Memorial Hospital in Hazelton to Mills. A small amount of money ‘from.-the province came along, but not enough to cover a fully- fledged surgical service. Health council officials note that the $220,000 spent on ophthalmology last’ year was the highest since the service began in 1995, ~ And it-was handled with- out incurring a deficit . One of he issues facing the health council is that éven if it found yet more money for eye surgery sup- plies, tt has no more opera- ling room time to allocate to the service. Any increase in eye surg- ery time would have: to come from other surgeons at the hospital and they’ ve al- ready rejected that option.. Surgeon Warwick Evans, who spoke at the health council budget meeting last week when ophthalmology was discussed, warned against increasing eye surg: ery time. “You'd see other services disappear,” said Evans in calling the situation “very complex and very sensi- tive.” Bladder Control! WITH CONFIDENCE Introducing TENA’ Protective Underwear Ask about our free trial sample program. Northern Healthcare 100-4634 Park Avenue, Terrace L * Park Avenue Medica! Centre « 615-5151 P ICarnt of Fine Steven Shaver Health council chair Bob Kelly said any increase in ophthalmology surgery in the northwest would have to _take place at other hospitals. The chances of that are. regarded as slim given the requirement not anly for supplies and for operating room nurses, but to buy the expensive equipment for eye. surgery. Shaver had also been cri- tical of his fellow surgeons, saying they met and par- celled out operating room time without him and that he was getting less than they were, But he met with the other surgeons last week and has now made his peace with them. “T do understand their point of view far better,” said Shaver. Ag it is, Shaver said sur- geons here gave up some of their time in 1995 to allow the crealion of the ophthal- mology service here in the first place. He said the real issue is getling more operating room time for-all surgeons and finding. the nurses to handle the work, When Shaver meets with health council officials next week, he also hopes to get a better understanding of the cost of supplies. He had worked out his request -for -an- additional $100,000 based on a $291 supply cost for each cataract surgery. He now believes the cost is lower and estimates the increase he wants is now about $64,000. “If it is $64,000, we're not far off,” said Shaver of the difference between that number and the $40,000 more allocated this year. Q: A: For a balanced portfolio, include: 1. Physical activity 2. Healthy eating 3. Your doctor's advice Do you have a personal investment plan? . ‘wer. porticipaction com TERRA Perfect for Halloween! 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