A rally was held in front of the Northern Regional Health Authority (NRHA) offices Dec. 11 to protest the slow progress in bringing a new chemotherapy centre to the Thompson General Hospital.
Talks surrounding a new chemotherapy facility began in earnest in 2006, when requests were sent to Manitoba Health for a budget of $300,000 (the NRHA cannot proceed with funding unless approved by the provincial authority). Requests were consistently rejected until 2009, when $104,000 was approved to renovate the existing space.
However, it soon became clear that professional involvement would be required to meet CancerCare standards, and by 2014, the expected costs had risen to $835,150. Resultant bids from the construction tender, released on June 11 of this year, exceeded the requested provincial funds. The NRHA now awaits the approval of funds, while the tender has been extended until March 30 of next year.
For those present for the rally, the delay was unacceptable, and they had no intention of mincing words on that day. Signs lined the road with slogans like “Premier Selinger – We’re dying for you.”
Shelley Carey, a terminal patient who has been receiving treatment at the facility, spoke with media about the issues surrounding the facility: “You have people with blood pressures of over 160 over 90 … at times, you can see people literally shaking, and in fact, some people have had to take their treatments in the hallway. It’s a room that’s about 12 by 14 [feet], and there’s four of us in there. In Winnipeg, each person would get a space that’s roughly nine by 12 [feet], separated by a curtain, with room for at least two or three people to stand by you while you’re receiving their treatment. Often, here, there’s no one to even watch the three or four people receiving treatment there.”
Equally frustrating has been the lack of information provided to those concerned, said Carey: “Today, for the first time in four years, we received a fact sheet. We’ve been asking for that information for four years. Officials, including Steve Ashton here, have ignored us for over five years. Suddenly, we’re doing this rally, and now they’re paying attention. The minister of health, for two years, didn’t even know where this project was. It’s the squeaky wheel that gets the grease, and we decided, if they want us to be a squeaky wheel, then that’s what we’ll be.”
Thompson MLA Steve Ashton was present to respond to comments. He assured residents that the wheels were spinning: “The technical issues are worked out, we have a contractor lined up. I know that until construction starts, people are going to keep applying pressure, and they should. It’s the only way things get done.” In response to comments made previously, Ashton notes “I do think there’s a legitimate concern with the lack of communication here, and wherever people are left out of the loop, there’s a problem. I myself, all I know was that a tender was sent out, and that it came in over budget. The end result, when the facility gets built, I think that’s what really matters.”
