Local residents shared their feelings on Flin Flon health care at a recent forum – and they held little back.
About 30 people gathered at the Flin Flon Public Library on Feb. 27 to talk about what they perceived as ongoing problems with local health care.
The forum, organized by the Manitoba Liberal Party, was attended by provincial leader Dougald Lamont and moderated by long-time MLA and former leader Dr. Jon Gerrard. The party held it as part of a six-stop series of meetings to determine how residents in different regions feel about the quality of their health care.
Three questions were posed to the assembled crowd – what was good about health care in Flin Flon, what was bad about it and what needed to be improved.
Attendees agreed on some positive aspects of Flin Flon health care. Telehealth was praised, as was outreach by CancerCare Manitoba, primary care services and postpartum care for mothers and the Northern Patient Transportation Program, which subsidizes travel costs for northern residents heading south for treatment.
Flin Flon nurses and hospital staff also received universal praise from those in attendance.
However, the positives were drowned out by what people viewed as a malfunctioning system in Flin Flon health care.
The biggest sticking point for forum attendees was the lack of doctors permanently based in Flin Flon. After Dr. Farshid Eghbali leaves Flin Flon this month, the community will be down to two Flin Flon-based doctors employed by NHR. When attendees were asked to suggest one thing that health care in Flin Flon could use most, all but four people mentioned a need for more permanent doctors.
In a statement to The Reminder, an NHR spokesperson said the health region is continuing to recruit permanent doctors for Flin Flon. NHR receives provincial funding for three positions, but there is often lag time between one physician leaving and another permanent one coming to Flin Flon.
“When we recruit physicians, there is a cyclical pattern. They finish their assessment program in June, and with moving and finding housing, it is generally typical that they do not start their practice until the fall.”
Locum physicians are being brought to Flin Flon on a temporary basis to fill the gap. “To cover the service gaps between a health care provider leaving and a permanent one coming to Flin Flon, we will continue to utilize locums to ensure the residents of the Northern Health Region receive the services they require,” said the spokesperson.
Long delays with making appointments have led to residents using the emergency room as a walk-in clinic, with several people in attendance saying they had used the facility as such.
“We use it out of desperation, not because we want to clog the system or we think our things are emergency – we know going in that it’s not an emergency, but it’s something that has to be dealt with our children or with us that just can’t wait until there’s an appointment,” said Kirsten Fritsch, a mother of two who attended the forum.
“Unfortunately when there is a gap in service in the Flin Flon Clinic and no appointments are available, there is an increase in people presenting to the ER department,” said the NHR spokesperson. “We have had positive reactions to the locum coverage and the services our residents receive from those locums that currently come to work in our ER department.”
Another issue raised with care was not consistently having an obstetrician on duty at Flin Flon General Hospital.
Accounts were shared about confusion around delivery plans, as well as mothers in labour being sent to The Pas by ambulance to deliver.
Fritsch mentioned several mothers had been transported to The Pas in ambulances from Flin Flon due to there not being an on-duty obstetrician.
“We knew there was no [obstetrician] at the time. When I went to the hospital in labour, there was no plan. No one knew what to do. The nurses were awesome, but there was no plan and these poor nurses were trying to plan for me,” she said.
The mother said her husband drove her to The Pas during labour, and that several other babies were born that night.
“No one checked on me that night with a brand new baby because there were so many babies.”
When told of the stories, the NHR spokesperson said the patient’s physician ultimately decides whether to send a patient to The Pas or any other facility. The decision is impacted by the patient’s medical status and is only used if qualified personnel are not available in Flin Flon.
“The need to transport expectant mothers via ambulance from Flin Flon General Hospital to The Pas Health Centre due to no obstetrician being available is low, with minimal impact on ambulance resources,” said the NHR spokesperson.
“When no obstetrician is available in Flin Flon and a pregnant woman presents to Flin Flon General Hospital in labour, they are assessed. Based on that clinical assessment a decision is made whether to transport to The Pas by ambulance, or if it safe to drive themselves or to deliver in ER.”
“Every expectant woman receiving prenatal care at the Flin Flon General Hospital has a birthing plan developed by the obstetrical team.”
Along with voicing complaints, forum guests also suggested ways Flin Flon health care could be improved. Aside from having permanently based medical professionals in Flin Flon, people suggested improving and expanding the provincial telehealth system. There are currently 140 telehealth sites across the province, including three in Flin Flon, but high demand for the services can sometimes make appointments hard to make.
“He just went down – it was 10 minutes in the office for a 16-hour drive. That is crazy,” said Moira Davis, speaking of an ill relative. “Telehealth works. It works well.”
The spokesperson said NHR currently has a telehealth working group, meant to expand access to the program throughout the north. “The primary goal of this initiative is to enhance the patient experience by improving access to health services; making more services available closer to home saving patients the stress, costs and risks associated with travel and, in some cases, reducing wait times for services,” they said.
Some guests mentioned having an MRI scanner in Flin Flon would be useful. Currently, the closest MRI unit to Flin Flon within Manitoba is located in Winnipeg.
“The infrastructure required to run a successful program around an MRI machine is complex and requires detailed planning,” said the spokesperson, adding that the idea of bringing an MRI unit to Flin Flon has not been ruled out.
Another suggestion was employing specialists in northern Manitoba, where Flin Flonners and people from other communities can access them more easily.
Other issues raised, including difficulty of medical travel in Saskatchewan or issues with accessing patient records between Manitoba and Saskatchewan, are outside the NHR’s scope.
