Community Health Advisory Network Questions and Answers

Meadow Lake and Area CHAN brings you Questions and Answers on Health Services Q - What is the objective of the Meadow Lake and Area Community Health Advisory Network (CHAN)? A - CHAN is a local volunteer committee. Its purpose is to help enhance two-way communication between the community and the Health Authority and to assist in showing appreciation to our health care providers. CHAN gives you another voice in sharing issues, ideas and information about the provision of health services in this community. Comment forms are available in the community for you to express your thoughts and suggestions. The committee uses your input in a confidential way to help the Health Region to understand and improve health services in your community. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - How can I submit a question on Health Services to the Meadow Lake and Area Community Health Advisory Network (CHAN)? A - Questions and comments can be submitted on the yellow comment forms that are available at the drug stores, Meadow Lake Associate Clinic, North West Health Facility and the Meadow Lake Tribal Council Health Office. You can also use any sheet of paper. Your comments and suggestions can be put into one of the “Locked Boxes” at the Meadow Lake Associate Clinic, the Northwest Health Facility (hospital) and at the Meadow Lake Tribal Council Health Office. They can also be mailed to #1, 711 Centre Street, Meadow Lake, Sask. S9X 1E6. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - Are there any plans to train more physicians (including pediatricians) in the province? A - The Province of Saskatchewan is investing over $64.87 million annually in recruitment, retention and training initiatives. We have made a commitment to train more physicians. The 2008-2009 budget includes funding to create 100 new physician-training seats at the College of Medicine and 120 residency-training positions by 2010-11. The Prairie North Regional Health Authority reports that it is actively attempting to recruit two paediatricians, one position for North Battleford and a second position for Lloydminster. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - Is there a charge for a cognitive assessment for any child who shows signs of such disabilities as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, Autism, etc? A - There is no fee for cognitive assessments provided through the regional health authorities. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - Why are treatments for infertile couples not covered under our health plan? A - The range of health coverage in our province is under continual review, and difficult decisions must be made to ensure medical coverage is as comprehensive as possible within our financial resources. The Ministry of Health provides coverage for the initial steps in determining fertility and ovulation including physician costs, anaesthetic, ultrasound and laboratory costs. Artificial insemination is also an insured service. The family physician can arrange a referral to see a specialist for these covered services. Services that are related specifically to in vitro fertilization (the fertilization of a harvested egg outside the body) are not insured. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - Do I need a doctor’s referral to see the physiotherapist at the hospital in Meadow Lake? A - No, a doctor’s referral is not required. You can phone the hospital to make an appointment yourself. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - Where can I get information on health care and the vaccinations needed when traveling abroad? A - Information is available from: • Saskatchewan Health Line – Phone 1-877-800-0002 • Meadow Lake Public Health Office - 1-306-236-1570 • Website – www.travelhealth.gc.ca ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - What effect do the “energy drinks” that are being sold in so many stores have on us? A - Caffeine is the ingredient that gives these drinks their mental stimulatory effect. Most of them contain about 80mg of caffeine in each 250ml can. This exceeds the amount recommended for children under 10 years. They are a concern when too many are consumed, when they are mixed with alcohol or when they are consumed by children and by pregnant or breastfeeding women. Excess caffeine intake can have adverse effects on behavior, sleep and blood pressure especially in children. If you choose to consume these drinks, do not mix them with alcohol, do not exceed 500 ml a day and check with your health care professional if you are taking any medications or other health products. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - Do I need a referral from a doctor to see the dietician? A - No, no referral is needed. You can phone to make an appointment yourself. The number is 306-236-1528 or you can phone the Meadow Lake Hospital and they will transfer you. You can also get information on nutrition and the Canada Food Guide at HYPERLINK "http://www.healthcanada.ca/food" www.healthcanada.ca/food guide On this website “Create My Food Guide” allows you to print a food guide that is personalized to your age, sex, food preferences and activity choices. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - Why does everyone need an identity bracelet when they come to the hospital, even for a simple procedure? A - It is important for staff to be able to identify patients to ensure that they are providing the correct care to the correct patient. The ID bracelet should be left in place on your wrist until you leave the hospital. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - What is Home Care? A - Home Care is intended to help people who need acute, palliative and supportive care remain independent at home. Home Care is intended to support the family, not replace it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - How do I access Home Care Services? A - A Single Point of Entry through the Home Care Office, will access Home Care, Repite Care, Enriched Housing, or Permanent Long Term Care and start the process of determining and finding the right care ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - How many hours does a doctor generally work each week? A - It is actually quite a difficult question to answer. The Canadian average is about 53 hours a week. Here in Meadow Lake, physicians are working likely in excess of 60 hours a week, not including on-call availability. As I said before, we do about a 1 in 6 call, which would add at least 16 hours to our work week every week. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - How can I find out about the cost of operating the Prairie North Health Region? A - Information about PN Health Region can be found on its website at HYPERLINK "http://www.pnrha.ca" www.pnrha.ca ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - What is the main purpose of the walk-in clinic? A - It exists to give people with acute problems a chance to get in to see a doctor on short notice. It is really designed for people with very severe colds or illnesses or bad sprains or pains to come in and see the doctor quickly. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - At the walk-in clinic some people seem to wait longer than others. Why is this? A - At the walk-in clinic we try to assign a priority to patients so that the very sick, the very young or the very old will be seen sooner, and that is why some people seem to wait longer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - At the walk-in clinic, could patients be given a number so they know in what order they will be seen? A - We don’t like to give people a number. The staff will often give people an idea of how long they will wait. The reason we don’t like to give a number though is because we need flexibility to assign priority to sicker patients and often people get called away to the hospital to attend emergencies there and their patients will also be seen first. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - How many doctors are at the walk-in clinic? A - There is only one physician assigned to the walk-in clinic. Others physicians assist as they can and the on-call physician, if they are not busy with emergencies, will also assist at the walk-in clinic. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - Can a patient go to the walk-in clinic for prescription renewals? A - The physicians at the clinic prefer that patients not come to the walk-in clinic for prescription renewals. Most of the time when someone needs a renewal for prescription it is for the monitoring of an ongoing chronic disease, and the walk-in clinic is really not intended to help people look after chronic diseases. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - How does a patient know whether to go to the walk-in clinic or the emergency room at the hospital? A - During regular office hours, it is preferable that patients go to the walk-in clinic first. The staff can assist them in making that decision at that time. However, for people with sudden, severe pain, obviously broken bones or severe bleeding it is recommended that people go straight to the emergency room. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - When should a patient NOT go to the emergency room at the hospital? A - The emergency room is not intended for renewal of prescriptions, coughs and colds, minor aches or strains, chronic conditions – anything that has been going on for more than a few days and hasn’t really changed, it would be inappropriate to go to the emergency room to seek care. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - When SHOULD a patient go to the Emergency department? A - When there is a sudden onset of symptoms, when there is severe pain or when there are changes in symptoms. You should go to the Emergency department when you experience life-threatening or urgent situations, broken bones, sudden severe headaches, trouble breathing, eye and head injuries, suicide attempts and cuts that are bleeding and require stitches. Babies and young children with a high temperature, and pregnant women with unusual pains or bleeding should also go to the Emergency department. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - What is the difference in cost of seeing a doctor in emergency, or seeing a doctor at the clinic? A - The cost difference to the system is approximately ten times seeing a doctor at the emergency room versus seeing a doctor at the clinic. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - If I can’t get an appointment with a doctor and need a renewal on my prescription, what should I do? A - There are two options. One would be to go to the pharmacist and ask the pharmacist to contact the physician for a renewal. The second option would be to phone the clinic and leave a message for the physician and let them know that your renewals are coming due and ask if there is any way they can help you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - Could my prescription be for longer than 3 months? And if not, why not? A - Most prescriptions are given for a period of 3 to 4 months because it allows us to monitor chronic diseases in a more appropriate way. Some diseases do not need to be monitored as often, and if you feel that your disease has been well controlled and your medications haven’t been changed for a while, it is certainly appropriate for you to ask your physician if your prescriptions could be give for a longer period of time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - How many visitors is each patient allowed at a time? A - We try to limit visitors to 2 to 4 at a time because when someone is in hospital, he or she is ill and needs to rest. There are also infection control and space issues – there is not enough space in patient rooms for more that 2 to 4 visitors at once. As well, with fire regulations, staff needs to be aware of how many people are in the building. Just a reminder – visitors are not to sit on patients’ beds. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - What is the Saskatchewan Healthline? A - Healthline is a telephone call-in service provided by the Province of Saskatchewan. There is no cost to the caller. Calls are answered by registered nurses who are trained, qualified and guided in what information they need to obtain from the caller, as well as what information they can and should provide to the caller to deal with the caller’s concerns. They will also advise the caller whether he/she needs to see a health care provider and in what time frame. Keep in mind that if they say you should be seen within 24 hours, it does not mean you should go to the hospital at midnight. The service should be used for all non-urgent situations or minor health care issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - Is the Healthy Babies Right From The Start program only available to Aboriginal or low income participants? A - No, the program offers support to off-reserve First Nations, Metis and non-aboriginal women and their families. The program is a federal initiative to support local community organizations in assisting pregnant women who are at risk of having infants with poor birth outcomes to have healthier pregnancies. At risk meaning, for example, a first time pregnancy, if you smoke, weight issues etc. After birth the Healthy Babies Right From The Start continues to help mothers and their babies for up to six months postnatal. The program includes promotion and support of breastfeeding, dietary assessment and nutritional counseling, healthy lifestyle education, food and vitamin supplementation and many different sessions offered. Infant car seats, breast pumps, food grinders and many other resources and materials are offered. We are located in the northwest Friendship Center on Main Street in Meadow Lake. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - What does the word “Triage” mean? A - Triage in the health care world means “sorting” people according to their health care needs. Across Canada, nursing staff in Emergency departments “sort” patients to determine how quickly a physician needs to be contacted to arrange care. Nurses use the Canadian Triage Assessment Scale, also known as CTAS (or see-tass). CTAS has 5 categories that indicate how quickly a person needs to receive treatment. The categories range from immediate care (or category 1), to a wait as long as 8 hours (or category 5). Category 5 does not mean the patient will always be seen by a doctor, but the patient’s condition will be discussed with a doctor within that time frame. Nurses observe and reassess patients’ conditions while patients wait for treatment according to their triage level. Meadow Lake Hospital uses this nationally recognized triage system. Non-urgent cases are often referred to the physician clinic. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - Is there a special order that patients are seen in the Emergency room? A - The triage system is used to score patient needs for everyone presenting to the Emergency Department. If a patient is determined as a level 1, 2, or 3 under the triage scale, the patient is prioritized and seen before the non-urgent cases and all booked procedures. Patients at the Emergency department for booked procedures are generally seen before the non-urgent cases, but sometimes the order is changed, depending on which doctors are available for booked procedures. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - What should I bring with me when I have to go to the Emergency room? A - Always bring your health card, your hospital ID card if you have one, and a list of any allergies you may have. You should also bring with you the medications you are taking at home, or at least a list of the medications you are taking – whether they are prescription medications or those bought over the counter. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q - What are the rules for visiting patients at the hospital? A - Visiting hours are from 2 pm to 8 pm daily. These visiting hours are set to allow patients the time they need to rest. People are in the hospital because they are ill and need time to recover. Visitors are asked to keep this in mind for the patient they are visiting and for the other patients as well. The hospital needs the visiting hours to be followed so staff has time to provide care to our patients and to clean patient areas. Parents are encouraged to stay with their children, as are partners of maternity patients. This decreases stress for children and provides support to new mothers. Children under 12 years of age who are visiting must be accompanied by an adult.