By Chris Armstrong
Two-year old Nathan Bujold touches his father’s face while a nurse practitioner listens to his heartbeat.
Nathan’s cough prompted a visit to the Somerset West Community Health Centre walk-in clinic.
He’s not sick, yet. But his visit might curb an infection.
This is the aim of the community health centre, say its employees – they try to promote a healthy lifestyle and prevent illness as the hospitals deal with sick patients.
For this reason, they believe health centres should get a slice of the pie.
The pie is the $23 billion federal transfer to the provinces. Over the next five years, most of this money will help the provinces with their health care costs. Ottawa wants to make sure it will be spent properly. The provinces will have to show where the money was allocated.
Queen’s Park hasn’t divided the money yet, but people like Dr. Dona Bawers say some of the money should be spent on health centres.
“It’s services to make people healthier,” says Dr. Bawers, a family practitioner and the program manager for health services at Somerset West.
David Gibson, the manager at Somerset West, says he has a concern about the money going to hospitals.
“It doesn’t really solve the issue of how we look at the needs of communities and how we handle these needs,” says Gibson.
Gibson also says Somerset West is understaffed. Five doctors and three nurse practitioners look after about 7,800 regular clients, he says.
A few blocks east, another community health centre also wants more staff to provide for the needs of the community.
Marguarite Keeley, the executive director of the Centretown Community Health Centre, says she doesn’t have the staff required to deal with clients’ needs.
“Our equipment is our people,” says Keeley, “In order to provide our service and meet our demands, it requires more people.”
One hospital representative also sees the need for more staff.
“We’re all in the same boat,” says Michel Bilodeau, the president of the Sisters of Charity, which oversees St. Vincent Hosptial.
Bilodeau says he has cut 200 jobs in the last five years, and has lost $2 million in the hospital’s budget, bringing it down to $56 million.
He says if the hospital does not get more money this year, it will have to reduce services.
Back at Somerset West, Nathan’s father, Richard, says the service is faster at the walk-in clinic than at a hospital.
In ten minutes, Nathan passes his checkup and is out the door.