vic health

 

MPP Vic Fedeli is calling on Health Minister Eric Hoskins to correct his record in the Legislature.

This after he asked Hoskins about potential changes in cancer care at the North Bay Regional Health Centre on Monday.

The Health Minister said they have no plans to change the level, quality and location of cancer services.

Fedeli says that’s inaccurate pointing to a release stating that there have been discussions related to phasing out visiting radiation oncologists providing follow up care.

 

Here’s the video from Monday’s exchange:

 

Here’s the joint statement released Tuesday by North Bay Regional Health Centre President and CEO Paul Heinrich and Northeast Regional Cancer Program, Regional Vice President Mark Hartman:

 

The North Bay Regional Health Centre works in partnership with Cancer Care Ontario and the Northeast Cancer Centre at Health Sciences North to ensure access to cancer care is as close to home as possible. We would like to assure you that the NBRHC Cancer Clinic is not closing.
Currently, the NBRHC has a visiting Radiation Oncologist Clinic once a month for follow up visits with cancer patients who have completed radiation treatment. There have been discussions related to phasing out the radiation oncologists visiting NBRHC to provide follow up care. Our plan is to allow for the oncologists to discuss any proposed changes directly with patients and this will transpire over the course of the next year.
It is important to note that this in no way impacts the NBRHC Chemotherapy Clinic which provides over 1,900 chemotherapy treatments annually, the highest activity of any satellite chemotherapy facility in the province.
This change to radiation oncology visiting clinics is intended to improve access to care. With more cancer patients being provided follow up care by family doctors and nurse practitioners in their home community and through the use of the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) this change will provide more capacity for radiation oncologists to see new patients and provide treatment. This is how this type of care is provided in other hospitals across northeastern Ontario.
This change will transpire over the next 12 months with patients being either transferred to primary care, followed by OTN or in rare circumstances, travel to Sudbury.

Mark Hartman
Regional Vice President
Northeast Regional Cancer Program

Paul Heinrich
President and CEO
North Bay Regional Health Centre