South East Integrated Care Centre: Health Care Foundation proposes addition
October 3, 2012, 4:36 am
Kevin Weedmark
The Moosomin and District Health Care Foundation is asking the Regina Qu'Appelle Regional Health Authority to conduct a needs assessment to see if more beds should be added to the Southeast Integrated Care Centre.
The health care foundation will make a presentation to the health board when the board meets in Moosomin June 27.
Health foundation chair Bill MacPherson said the foundation has recognized the fact that the facility is too small since it was built.
"We've been talking about it since we had the grand opening," he said.
"It was too small to begin with. The thought in the back of everyone's mind was that that sooner or later we would have to expand.
"If they had given us the 110 bed facility instead of the 85 bed facility we would be in better shape, if we had 42 acute beds and 60 long term, that's 10 less seniors who would have to go out of town when they're ready for a nursing home.
"And if we had the 15 extra beds we should have had to begin with on the acute side, it wouldn't be a problem.
"I've always thought we need 40 or 42 acute care beds. Right now there are 27. They have had people out in the hallways, doctors have to send sick people home to bring in sicker people.
"I think the doctors are getting frustrated. They can't do surgeries because there are never any recovery beds available."
The Southeast Integrated Care Centre was built under a 65-35 provincial-local funding split, with the local area raising $10 million for the facility.
The Wall government changed the funding formula to an 80 per cent provincial share, but refused to apply the formula to the Moosomin project, which was already under way.
MacPherson said he is hoping the province would be willing to pay a larger share of the cost of an expansion at the SEICC, since the Moosomin area paid the entire 35 per cent share.
"A lot of people think the province owes us, because we paid 35 per cent and everyone since then has been paying 20 per cent.
"The town of Moosomin took out a loan to cover their share, and they'll be paying for that hospital for a long time," he said.
He said he hopes a new addition to the integrated facility could be built within five years.
The foundation is also asking for a review of the status of the Moosomin facility, with the goal of upgrading it to regional hospital status.
The status of the Southeast Integrated Care Centre has been an issue for some time. With hospitals in surrounding communities closing or limiting services, the facility is serving a wider and wider area.
"The funding is different, and the doctors feel it would help them recruit more doctors if this was a regional hospital," MacPherson said.
In addition, the foundation will raise the issue of bureaucratic delays in purchasing equipment for the integrated care centre
"There is equipment that needed to be ordered and we were asked to pay for," says MacPherson.
MacPherson said necessary equipment is simply not being purchased.
"This was approved a year and a half ago, but it just isn't getting done. The doctors are asking for this equipment because they need it.
"People are giving us money, there is a need, we are willing to pay for it, but the red tape is getting in the way," he said.
MacPherson believes the problem lies in the health care bureaucracy.
"We've had a good working relationship with the RQHR board, and I have no issues with Sask Health," he said. "There are some bureaucrats in the middle who are holding things up."
The Health Care Foundation currently has about $700,000, but MacPherson believes municipalities would have to kick in if there were an addition to the health facility.
"With $700,000 we can buy lots of good equipment, but it's not much for a building," he said.
MacPherson said he is optimistic the regional health authority will initiate reviews into both the need for an expansion of the integrated care centre and an upgrade in status.
"Personally, I think if anybody should get more facilities it's Moosomin," he said. "Everyone's coming to us. The doctors had to do something with the walk-in because they have too many people coming.
"And the way things are happening in Moosomin, why can't we have a regional hospital here?
"Something has to change. The doctors are getting frustrated."
Need is clear
Moosomin Mayor Don Bradley, a member of the Health Care Foundation board, said he believes the need for additional beds is clear.
"We had a meeting of the foundation and all the mayors and reeves were there," he said. "We agreed to request another needs assessment. I don't know how much of a rocket scientist you need to be to know that we need more beds.
"We need 10 more beds. We need a new wing."
He said he hopes the needs assessment can be done as quickly as possible and planning can move ahead for a new addition.
"I hope it goes quickly-the needs are there," he said. "And we need to be a regional hospital. We are anyway-everybody's coming from 100 miles in every direction."
Assessment warranted
Moosomin MLA Don Toth said he agrees that a needs assessment is warranted.
"I chatted with the mayor and chatted with the physicians, and one of the challenges the physicians face is losing the opportunity to do some surgeries here because there aren't the beds available.
"I always felt we underbuilt it-it should have been a larger facility-but as the former chair of the (planning) committee said to me recently, they had to get something built, so they agreed to what the government was offering."
Toth said he hopes the regional health authority takes the requests from the Moosomin and District Health Care Foundation seriously.
"What the medical team will be able to show them is that the area they cover is growing-they have people coming from a long way. With the area Moosomin is covering, there may be a very legitimate argument for regional status."
Toth said that, as the process moves forward, he will ensure the health minister and premier are aware of the needs in the local area.
"Any time we look at some options I chat with the minister and the premier and make some suggestions of what we can do to meet the needs in health care," he said.
Toth said that the Saskatchewan Party government has been trying to deal with an infrastructure deficit in health care that means there is a backlog of projects for construction.
"Health care in this province is no different than highways," he said. "When we formed government in 2007 there was such a backlog, it's taking a long time to catch up.
"When it comes to a proposal like this, the the region will do their review and look at all the proposals out there, determine their priorities and bring them to us. So it's very important to meet with the region and explain why this is needed."
Formal request
Moosomin town council is sending the following letter to the Regina Qu'Appelle Regional Health Authority. The letter was approved at Wednesday's council meeting.
"Dear Board members:
"The supporting municipalities of the Southeast Integrated Care Centre-Moosomin request that the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region consider undertaking a needs assessment of the current facility.
"The previous assessment for this facility took place a number of years ago, and the demographics of this region have changed considerably since that time. SEICC has been consistently at or over bed capacity since it opened in November 2008.
"Our municipality believes that the existing acute care beds need to be reviewed. We may have reached a time when planning to increase the number of acute care beds is necessary.
"We realize that the needs assessment is the first step in determining the need for expansion to the facility and respectfully request the board's consideration.
Yours truly,
Don Bradley, Mayor
Town of Moosomin"
