Progressive Conservative MLA incumbent Ray Danyluk reaffirmed his commitment to put a permanent dialysis unit in the William J. Cadzow Healthcare Centre at the candidates’ debate last Tuesday.
Danyluk said that he had convinced the present health minister that the local hospital needs a permanent dialysis unit.
“That was the hill I’m dying on,” Danyluk told the crowd at the debate.
Citing internal documents from Alberta Health Services, Danyluk told the POST that planning is underway to have a unit put inside the Lac La Biche hospital. He said he hopes that it will be put in a year.
And although they couldn’t say exactly how much planning has been done, a spokesperson and the Minister of Alberta Health and Wellness both confirmed that the ministry is discussing both long and short-term solutions to replace the dialysis bus currently operating in Lac La Biche.
One of the short-term solutions is to upgrade the bus and station it outside of the hospital, said Micky Elabdi, a spokesperson with the ministry. This will probably be done by September, Elabdi said.
And while the bus is being upgraded, Alberta Health Services will transport patients to the St. Paul hospital to get the required dialysis services.
As for the longer-term solutions, Fred Horne — incumbent PC MLA in Edmonton who was the Health Minister before the election was called — confirmed a commitment to getting a unit built within the hospital.
“We’re working toward the unit in the hospital, that’s the best for patients,” Horne said, adding that he hopes this will be done within a year. But in the interim, he emphasized that the bus will be parked outside the hospital.
The dialysis bus, and its shortfalls, has been a controversial issue in Lac La Biche County. Last year, the bus service had to be cancelled several times because of poor weather, staffing shortages and a broken waterline. Patients then had to travel to St. Paul to receive the critically-important blood treatment.
Patients, doctors and county officials have all said that Lac La Biche needs more than just a bus to treat patients with kidney problems.
