Following further discussions between Alberta Health Services and staff at the Bonnyville Health Centre on Aug. 5, the province has decided to postpone any decision to make changes to the pathology program at the hospital pending further investigation and discussions.
With Dr. Bob Davey having announced his intent to retire earlier this year, AHS had planned to close the pathology department at the health centre and revert all local pathology services to Edmonton.
Dr. Leonard de Freitas, president of Bonnyville's medical staff, has been against these planned changes since they were announced earlier this summer, and he said he was happy to see AHS responding to pleas from both the staff at the hospital and the public following a meeting with AHS representatives Aug. 5.
“I got a phone call a week after our meeting from AHS North Zone Medical Director Dr. Kevin Worry, and he told me after collaboration with his bosses, AHS had decided to put the whole process (of closing the pathology department) on hold pending further investigation,” de Freitas said. “I think the general conclusion is they need to go back to the drawing board again and present us with some answers on a number of concerns we have. They've acknowledged the way they went about implementing the changes wasn't right and have decided they need to take our concerns into consideration and come up with a viable plan.
“That being said, they haven't promised they're not going to move forward with their plans, they're just putting them on hold for the time being and taking a look at the whole issue.”
Worry said he was encouraged by the meetings in Bonnyville and was happy to see local physicians step up to the plate and provide AHS with all the relevant information needed to make a final decision.
“Certainly both AHS and Covenant Health appreciates the time and effort Bonnyville physicians are making when it comes to ensuring we have all the information and take everything into account so we are able to make the right decision concerning quality of patient care moving forward,” Worry said.
He added that any decision AHS makes will be made following consultation with both hospital staff and local dignitaries, and will be done to ensure patients continue to receive a timely and quality level of service.
“I think everyone understands this change was only discussed because of concerns AHS had regarding the quality of patient care following Dr. Davey's retirement,” Worry said. “That's the only reason we're dealing with this issue. We aren't discussing any larger scale change to lab services. That is absolutely not an option. We just want to ensure patients remain well treated moving forward.”
Deputy Mayor John Irwin said he felt the pathology department was “very important” to the local community and he was still hoping to see AHS make a complete u-turn and commit to hiring a pathologist to replace Dr. Davey.
“The pathology department I think is absolutely crucial to this area. We have a growing population here in town and a shadow population living in all the different camps that the hospital services too, so I think the health centre and the department is a tremendous asset to northeastern Alberta,” Irwin said. “Sure, it's good to see AHS postponing (the cuts), but I'd be much happier if we were recruiting another pathologist. Not moving forward with the cuts would leave us with only one doctor, we want a second one to fill that hole. We have an excellent group of professionals here now and we need to support them.”
Worry said he was meeting with staff at the Bonnyville Health Centre Aug. 26 for further discussions.
