The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Officials from the Northern Health Region (NHR) braved the masses in an open house meeting in Snow Lake at the end of February. The session was held to explain their plan to deal with changes coming to the local pharmacy and health centre clinic, as well as the possible loss of both current physicians. CEO Helga Bryant was among the officials to appear in front of about 200 people at the Lawrie Marsh Community Hall. Bryant began by shedding light on a progression of events that will eventually lead to the closure of the town's pharmacy. The pharmacy is located in the NHR's health centre, but owned and operated by Dr. Neil Macleod. Before she could finish the explanation, questions began to fly fast and furious. By the tone of most queries, it appears people are frightened at the proposed changes and are looking for answers. Many seemed unable, and some sounded unwilling, to embrace the prospect of change with respect to the local pharmacy _Êa change that the NHR says is inevitable. Bryant explained health authorities are not typically in the business of providing retail pharmacy services, adding that Dr. Macleod had advised some time ago he was getting out of the pharmacy business and the NHR began to look at how they would deal with that situation. 'One of his options was to sell the retail pharmacy to a vendor,' said Bryant. 'That has not happened and I don't know if it will happen; however, we needed a contingency plan in the event that it didn't.' The CEO said the plan is to get prescriptions from Snow Lake to Flin Flon, likely by fax, have them filled by a pharmacist in Flin Flon and transported back to the community the following day, then picked up by the patient at the Health Centre. It was at this point _ five minutes into the meeting _ when questions started coming for the presenters. People wanted to know how the NHR would get prescriptions into Snow Lake. Bryant said she knew there were transportation issues (lack of bus service), but they would have prescriptions sent in by transport truck. She was asked why there couldn't be pharmacy services in all NHR health facilities. She noted there is a provincial shortage of pharmacists and many prefer to work in the retail sector where remuneration is thought to be higher. A person wanted to know if there would be a guarantee of next-day service. Bryant said they would do their best, barring snow storms and the like. Prescriptions People wondered who would fill out prescriptions if there was no doctor in Snow Lake. Bryant said the NHR is currently negotiating with both Snow Lake doctors and regardless of the outcome, the community would have physician services _ either by the current complement of doctors, recruitment or via locum (a person who substitutes temporarily for another member of the same profession). There were questions about how prescriptions would be distributed once they arrived in the community and who would do it. Bryant stated it would be done by the NHR and that drug plan payments would operate as they had in the past; and if there were instances where cash payments had to be made, they would plan for this and incorporate it into their service. Someone wondered if the community's second doctor, Dr. Salah Rhoma, would be allowed to operate the pharmacy as Dr. Macleod had. Bryant advised that he could not. She said Dr. Macleod is the only physician left in the province who is allowed to prescribe and dispense drugs and that the governing organization, the Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association, would not grant that privilege to any other physician. Questions continued to fly. A person asked who would cover the transportation costs for getting pharmaceuticals to Snow Lake. Bryant said the NHR would, and that they would look at sharing costs with others moving things in and out of the community. Another query about how the loss of the pharmacy, possible loss of both doctors and several other perceived losses made it seem like the NHR was downsizing in Snow Lake at a time when the economy is moving up. See 'Physi...' on pg. 11 Continued from pg. 9 The questioner wanted to know whether the town would get replacements if the current doctors left. Bryant explained the current physician complement for Snow Lake, which is funded by the province, is 1.6 EFT (Equivalent Full Time) and that the NHR has no intention of reducing that. She said that if the doctors leave, the NHR will recruit new physicians within that allowance and noted they don't see it as being difficult because of the beauty of the community. A further question was asked in respect to why the NHR didn't just round the positions out to 2 EFT, as it was unlikely that someone would come to Snow Lake for a 0.8 or 0.6 position. Bryant explained again that the provincial funding was only for 1.6 EFT (based on patient volumes) and if it was to rise, that extra money would have to come from somewhere else. She said some people prefer to work part-time, adding that the town would never see less than 1.6 EFT and that as the community grows, the NHR will advocate for an increase in that number. A further question was asked in regard to why one doctor couldn't work full-time and the other a 0.6 EFT. Bryant said that could be easily arranged, but would have to be negotiated. Due mostly to the lack of a microphone, several questions were asked twice and even three times, and many of them were inaudible. There were several more questions in regard to the pharmacy, including one with respect to whether a lobbying effort directed at the Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association could keep the pharmacy the way it is. Bryant stated the Association, as well as the College of Physicians and Surgeons, have said no further doctors would be given the right to prescribe and dispense drugs in the province. Due to time restraints, the issue of changes in the clinic's structure were not fully addressed; however, Bryant committed to keep open channels of communication with the people of Snow Lake in order to keep them informed of plans as they are rolled out or fall into place.
My Take on Snow Lake runs Fridays.
