Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As indicated during my Member’s statement, I believe that as a system we must own some responsibility for patients missing their appointments, especially when they are for appointments which take place several months from the time when patients are originally notified of the requirement for a procedure.
I’ve talked with some residents who have indicated that they have been told by their physician that they are being recommended for colon cancer screening but they don’t hear anything from Stanton for months. Could the Minister of Health and Social Services please tell me how long it usually takes for Stanton to receive referrals for colon cancer screening from individual physicians and how long it takes to transition those into actual appointments for our residents?
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once a referral for a colonoscopy is made to Stanton, that referral is received immediately. It’s taken into account immediately and Stanton staff works to prioritize the list of referrals. It’s really important to note that people who need this procedure on an emergency basis get them.
A wait list for this sort of procedure is an issue all across the country. Stanton is not an exception and they are working to find efficiencies within the system to make sure that the service is used as efficiently as possible.
Thank you to the Minister for that. I’m not sure that is always the case. I know there are a number of people who have emergency situations or blood has appeared in their samples to suggest that an appointment should happen within three months, as the department indicated in the newspaper several weeks ago. There are delays that are far longer than that. Given that there is such an extensive wait list for colon cancer screening, how does the system, and Stanton specifically, ensure that residents are regularly updated as to the status of their appointment? That is one of the problems that people are experiencing, is that, first off, they don’t hear anything for months that they have an appointment or anything from Stanton. Then they hear that they’ve got an appointment in 18 months. Then they hear nothing. What is the process that Stanton has put in to ensure that our residents are regularly updated so that they don’t miss these appointments which cost us, as a system, money in the long run?
I do agree with the Member, that missed appointments do cost the system. In fact, I had this discussion with the Beaufort-Delta leadership when I was there because that issue did come up. For lots of our procedures there are no-shows and obviously there is a cost to that. The system works to improve that.
With respect to the procedure that the Member is asking about, I have had personal situations in our family where we have had two or three procedures being done in the past six to eight years and I found the services okay. I have not talked or the Member has not brought to me any specific situations that I could look into. I don’t believe that Stanton could, nor do they have the resources to call people on the list every three months to just update on where the waiting list is. I think they are called when their procedure is booked. I can assure the Member that the system looks at the wait list because it is long. I am not denying that. It is as long as two years for colonoscopy right now. That’s the procedure; that’s the length of the wait list anywhere in Canada. They have to constantly look at the emergency situation and they are doing that.
Residents could die within two years. We need to make sure that people are getting these treatments as quickly as possible.
Just for the record, I think the individuals at Stanton performing the procedures are experts and are awesome at what they do and they deserve to be patted on the back. I’m not talking about the actual performance of the procedure; I’m talking about screening and getting the procedures to happen and scheduled on a regular basis.
I’m wondering if I could get the Minister to commit to having Stanton implement a monitoring and reminder process that ensures that residents are regularly updated on the status of their colon cancer screening; something more than reminding them the day or two in advance of the actual appointment. It could be really important and a good gesture of our government to actually put in a system where we can make sure that we remind people on a regular basis so they don’t miss appointments. Missed appointments cost the system money.
Obviously that is part of the process. I will make sure that there is a reminder, as per the Member’s concern. I need to reiterate that we as a system take this situation very seriously. This is the reason why the government issued clinical guidelines. I don’t want people out there to think that people aren’t getting services that they desperately need. There are other measures being taken to make sure that people are screened for possible colon cancer. There are stool samples that are collected at the doctors’ offices. There is advice given about the dangers of this. Any man or woman over 50 is encouraged to take those tests. Those are being monitored closely to make sure that we don’t miss anybody. When they are referred to Stanton for colonoscopy, there is a system of people there to make sure that they are looking at the list constantly and that their resources are used as well as possible.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister can reiterate it all she wants. The bottom line is that people are waiting an extended period of time. I’m asking her to get her department, and Stanton specifically, to find a way to expedite those times as much as they can and to work with our residents to remind them that their appointments are coming so that they don’t feel like they are left in the dark. Once again, I was wondering if I could get the Minister to commit to actually putting in a process that ensures that residents are regularly updated about the time and date of their colonoscopy as well as other cancer screenings that are required.
I don’t think I’m denying anything that the Member is saying. I believe we agree that our process has to do that. The staff at the hospital is doing the best they can to make sure that this procedure and other screenings for cancer and treatment are used as wisely as possible. There are people who do keep track of the files that they have in front of them.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
