Hospital board's decision on CT scanner is slap in the face to Kincardine, says reader

To the Editor:
RE: “Reader offers more information about the CT scanner for Kincardine hospital”
 
I have been reading articles about the CT scanner selected for the Kincardine hospital.

My name is Brian Bellamy and I have been retired for many years now; having been a teacher, I retired back to the Hanover area.

One of your recent articles took my interest - I believe many years ago, Michael Barrett (now president and chief executive officer of the South Bruce Grey Health Centre) had also not approved a CT scanner for the Hanover hospital until the Hanover board composed a letter to Mr. Barrett's boss at the South West Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) seeking approval - which was then granted.

I do not know Mr. Barrett personally but from a patient's perspective, I do not understand his thinking. I noticed a presentation from the Kincardine Physicians Group at the hospital, regarding the CT scanner, and the benefits appear to outweigh the negatives. From my understanding, the costs have been covered by the hospital's fund-raising group.

One of your readers mentioned the board's decision seems like a “slap in the face.” I agree.

My question is: Where do we go from here? I support the doctors' recommendation and there seem to be many patient  benefits so I would be hard-pressed to think of good reasons against. 
 
Who are the hospital board members? Is it balanced representation on the hospital board? Who is advocating for Kincardine?

My family has donated in the past, understanding our donations would be put to a future CT scanner project. We did not donate under the impression that the hospital would get a lesser CT scanner or thinking the hospital board would not want the best model with the funds it has committed from the foundation group and Bruce Power for this project.

I would hope Bruce Power would also step forward to support the doctors’ group. Bruce Power is the largest nuclear company and if Kincardine is the closest hospital support centre for emergency events, let’s wake up and get what the doctors know will work best for them and the patients.
 
I hope the hospital board will rethink its decision against the doctors. What is going to be left in the Kincardine hospital? It can’t even provide surgery and from what I understand, doesn’t have the capacity to sterilize instruments on-site in Kincardine.

Kincardine may be better served as a stand-alone hospital. It makes sense. It’s the busiest site of the four in the South Bruce Grey Health Centre (including Walkerton, Durham and Chesley).

What Kincardine needs - more like, deserves - is a hospital board that represents that community's needs. For so many years, it has felt like a Kincardine-Walkerton hospital divide with funding and programs going to Walkerton hospital.

If it weren’t for the doctors and family health team, there would be no health care in that community other than an ER! I mention that because have you tried to get a lab appointment lately? It takes more than four weeks! At my age, I need tests done sooner than that.

I was disappointed when the lab left the clinic. Maybe, this problem can be fixed when the CT scanner order is revised.
 
Brian Bellamy
Hanover