The Issue: Chemotherapy suspension
We Say: Horrible timing
Sitting on a flight to Edmonton for life-sustaining chemotherapy likely isn't the way some NWT cancer patients thought they'd be spending the holidays.
And quite frankly, even after speaking with officials, Yellownifer isn't convinced the timing of the chemotherapy service suspension at Stanton Territorial Hospital "for program improvement" wasn't all that well-thought out.
Some 30 patients affected by the suspension were notified about the decision between Dec. 8 to 12. They will be flown to Edmonton from Yellowknife – in some cases, with a chaperon – for treatment, by the NWT until the chemo service resumes here. Perhaps in late February, more likely March.
Unless there is something that hasn't been revealed, the urgency for a program re-boot over Christmas – which sees GNWT offices empty out for annual "Donny Days" leave for nearly two weeks – hasn't been shown by either the hospital nor the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority.
Stanton's chief operating officer Les Harrison said after a review by Cancer Control Alberta, it was determined the program needed improvement.
"When they looked at part of the delivery model they determined chemo wasn't up to standard," said Harrison in an interview after a news release was issued Dec. 12.
"We need the time to implement procedures and policies which would give our staff an opportunity to get the (necessary) training."
The review was conducted in November. As reported in Yellowknifer, it took an extensive look inside Stanton's cancer treatment program: how patients flow through the hospital's system; the different policies and procedures for cancer treatment; a safety audit; and patient education.
OK, so the review showed some patients received the wrong drug, or incorrect dosage?
No. A statement released by the heath authority states, "The suspension of the chemotherapy services was not triggered by any known incident of patient harm."
Patients can be forgiven for being skeptical about the assertion made by Dr. Shireen Mansouri, a respected practitioner on Stanton's senior management team, who insists the closure is a "proactive step."
We trust the hospital is making improvements to its chemotherapy service, but again, we ask, was it really necessary to shut it down for more than two months and over the holidays when chemo patients would prefer to be with their families?
Yellowknifer can't see how the closing of a vital service for any amount of time – unless patients' lives were at risk – can be considered "proactive" in any way, especially one that has been operating without incident until now.
Being able to deliver chemotherapy in Yellowknife is important to ensuring people they can be confident in the city's ability to provide life-saving medical services when needed. That's part of the reason why schools, cancer groups and other philanthropists large and small worked so hard toward raising 720,000 to build a new chemotherapy and IV treatment suite at Stanton in 2011.
It matters to people that they can receive help here and not have to travel or move somewhere else to get it.
Hopefully, our MLAs are taking note as they ponder the territory's future as a viable place to live.