A6

By Corinne Fitzherbert

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Speak Up

"Our frustration level is building and our tolerance is wearing thin."

With those words, a troubled Danny Briggs, chairman of the doctor recruitment committee for Tobique Valley Hospital, attempts to sum up the chain of events that have transpired in recent weeks. Briggs, once brightly optimistic that Plaster Rock's hospital could find the doctors to make re-opening its emergency services department possible, is starting to feel the committee's efforts are being thwarted at every turn.

"This is not so huge a problem that it couldn't have been solved," Briggs said. "We have tried to negotiate as a peaceful community but we haven't been very successful."

Briggs said it's time the public knew how those negotiations have played out. He said his early optimism was based on having the names of a few doctors it was thought might be interested in coming to Plaster Rock. When none of those doctors were interested, the committee got the name of a recruiting agency based in Nova Scotia that, they were intrigued to discover, already had a contract with the province.

"We found out they had been active in other areas of the province but not with River Valley Health," Briggs noted.

The agency felt it had a couple of candidates that might fit Plaster Rock's needs and said it had forwarded a name to River Valley Health. Briggs said it was hard to find out what River Valley Health was doing with that name but was eventually told it had been passed along. The next thing Briggs was told was the physician was being offered a job in Perth-Andover because they were over-qualified for Plaster Rock where there is no obstetric service.

Another name was circulated by the agency but the recruitment committee was told by River Valley Health the person was under-qualified for Plaster Rock. They weren't allowed to have the names of the prospective doctors or see their resumes.

"In our minds, that was two potential names out there," Briggs affirmed. "If we had even one more doctor we would be well on our way to being fully functional. If we had four doctors, we could pretty much function 24-7, although we might still need a little help on weekends."

Briggs said the physicians now in Plaster Rock are willing to do what they can to provide emergency service. He added the village and the committee want the hospital's emergency service department re-opened at least during the day so ambulances could once again stop there.

Doing that, Briggs said, might save the life of someone who won't survive the extra 25 minutes it will take to reach Grand Falls or Perth-Andover or provide care in situations where the drive to another hospital is not necessary.

Briggs cited as an example a woman who recently fell over in the Plaster Rock Tourist Park and suffered facial lacerations. He said she could have been treated at Tobique Valley Hospital but that wasn't an option because she required an ambulance.

"She was taken half an hour away to have her wounds cleaned," Briggs said. "That could have been done here."

An accident on the Renous highway resulted in a child being taken to hospital in Grand Falls while the mother was taken to the Miramichi. Briggs said having ambulances travelling that far could mean another local emergency may require an ambulance to come from even further away, presenting additional dangers for area patients.

All these situations have led the village and committee to seek a re-instatement of emergency services on a daytime or part-time basis. So far, however, the answer to that question has been "no," as delivered via Dean Cummings, director of community relations primary care north for River Valley Health.

"We've been told if we can't offer services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, we don't offer it," Briggs said. "But we know there are other places in the province that do. It's like there's a different standard for us."

These concerns will be taken to the health minister when members of Plaster Rock village council and Briggs go to Fredericton on Oct. 22. They want the government to divulge its long-term plans for the hospital and whether it will ever concede to opening the emergency department.

"We want them to be upfront and honest," Briggs said. "Don't say one thing and do another."

Briggs noted, as an entrepreneur and businessman, he has been appointed by the government as an ambassador for New Brunswick as it pursues the self-sufficiency goal and it's a role he takes seriously. However, he wishes the government would realize it needs to pay more attention to life outside the major cities.

"If they think they can make the province self-sufficient without supporting the rural areas they are fooling themselves," he cried. "We're asking not to be treated like second-class citizens."

Mayor Judy St. Peter credited the recruitment committee for "working so hard" in trying to reinstate emergency services. The mayor said the task of recruiting five or six doctors is a challenge and that's why they want part-time services reinstated. Mayor St. Peter noted the human resources are available during daytime hours when the hospital continues to have laboratory, X-ray and nursing services.

"They've said all along it's not an issue of money but if it's only based on human resources, why is it such an obstacle?" Briggs questioned.

He added local people are making sacrifices to survive and it isn't fair. Local doctors get calls for advice in the middle of the night, he said, and other people "tough it out" at home because they can't travel for medical care. Nurses could sometimes help in situations they encounter, he said, but dare not for fear of stepping over the liability boundaries. Doctors may be nearby and want to help but are also prevented.

"So they have to call 9-1-1 and load people into ambulances," he said.

The mayor added everyone is tired of talking in circles and wants to see someone wake up to their message.

"Negotiations aren't going as well as expected but we're going to continue to push forward for safe health care," she said.