Not black and white: Dialysis needs vary says health board's CEO

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Not black and white
Dialysis needs vary says health board's CEO

BY MICHELLE STEWART
The Aurora

Maurice Connors certainly caught the attention of the province when he did an interview with CBC a couple of weeks ago.

The dialysis patient expressed his lament of having to be away from home to receive treatment because there's little available for dialysis patients in Labrador West. NDP leader Lorraine Michael and Opposition Leader Yvonne Jones held Health Minister Ross Wiseman to task on the whole subject in last week's House session.

Michael said she was informed of at least 10 dialysis patients from Labrador West who were in need of dialysis. Wiseman said he knew of only four as per the information he has received from the health board in the region.

Four on the list

Labrador-Grenfell Health's (LGH) Boyd Rowe spoke to the Aurora last Thursday on the subject and explained how the whole issue is definitely not black and white.

Rowe explained the number of dialysis patients who maintain a Labrador West residential address is indeed four people as listed with the provincial kidney program. In that four, two are still living and receiving treatment in Labrador West through home dialysis. The other two, he said, are receiving care outside of the area, but still maintain a Labrador West address.

"We have the recent individual who has gotten a fair bit of media attention, Mr. Connors, who is in St. John's," explained the CEO. "He is one of those two and he is currently being assessed for what the best modality is for his treatment in the future. There's another individual that is on hospital dialysis as well; now whether that individual is stable enough to receive dialysis in a satellite unit is a question in itself."

Lack of information

There is a lack of information, according to Rowe, when it comes to the dialysis needs in Labrador West and he is currently in the process of correcting that.

No committee had been in place to make a formal proposal to the health board for a dialysis unit in Labrador West, but now the board has invited representation from the communities of Labrador City and Wabush, as well as representation from the provincial kidney program to sit with members of the board and determine what those needs are.

"Another thing we are trying to get a handle on is what has been the trend over recent years," said Rowe, "How many patients have actually relocated from Labrador West because of kidney disease and requiring dialysis; and if that was a part of the decision why they moved from Labrador West. That would give us a better picture of the need in the Labrador West."

Criteria for satellite

It's not as simple as; if a person suffers from renal failure then a satellite dialysis unit will keep that person home and alive.

Satellite dialysis, Rowe explains, requires a patient be relatively stable medically. Just like home dialysis works well for some patients, it doesn't work for others.

Therefore it's not about having the right amount of numbers of people needing dialysis, it's what type of treatment they need; home-based, satellite or hospital treatment.

"I don't know if there is a specific number [to warrant a satellite unit]," said Rowe. "We are concerned if, from our standpoint, if there is one individual who is unable to return back home if they are able to be treated by satellite in a remote setting. We are concerned, we need to talk about the best solution and we need to engage the communities. At the end of the day, research tells us what is the best course of action."

Currently there is a satellite dialysis unit in Goose Bay as well as one in St. Anthony that each accommodates four or five patients currently.

The patients, being treated, are deemed medically stable patients and can be treated from the remote locations, as Rowe explained pointing out a committee was formed in Goose Bay, collected data and information to present to the health board while lobbying for the unit which opened Oct. 1, 2008.

Rowe said he would be pleased if a similar committee was formed in Labrador West.

"We have started the process now to engage the communities ourselves and the provincial kidney program, the Steelworkers have been promoting this as well over the last while and they are involved in this. I am think we will have some good discussion sooner rather than later on this important issue."
30/03/09

http://www.theaurora.ca/index.cfm?sid=237310&sc=298