Quite West, June 27, 2018: In a response to Mary Clare Egberts media interview following their AGM last evening, Mike Cowan, Chair of Our TMH wants to set the record straight on Dialysis.
QHC refuses to refute the statement made by Dr. Dan Holland in correspondence with Dr. David Weinstein in April 2018 that QHC has not indicated to KGH/ORN that they support a Dialysis unit at Trenton Memorial Hospital.
Our TMH understands that the budgeting allocations would have to come from the ORN to establish a dialysis unit at TMH. However, QHC has reneged on their support of OUR TMH to get a Dialysis unit at TMH despite having worked in tandem with them for more than 6-months (Jan to July 2017) to facilitate this service at Trenton Memorial Hospital. Members of OUR TMH Mike Cowan, Betty Clost and John Smylie met monthly with QHC Board Members Doug McGregor, Stuart Wright and Dave Mackinnon to discuss their progress. During this same timeframe, we have learned that Phil Wild was also meeting with QHC’s Brad Harrington, Dr. Weinstein, Doug Mcgregor and Dr. Dick Zoutman also to work towards a Dialysis unit at TMH.
Effective in July, both groups received notice from Doug McGregor, that Dialysis was off the table, as they were the landlord and they would no longer pursue this themselves but would support the efforts of Our TMH to continue to work with the ORN to get a dialysis unit at TMH. He had indicated at that time that QHC was having issues with KGH.
Since July 2017, members of OUR TMH have been waiting to receive a new capacity report from the ontario Renal network, via KGH, but it has yet to be received publicly. As of May 2018, Mike Cowan has corresponded directly with Stuart Wright the new QHC Board Chair to request the above statement of Dr. Hollands be refuted by QHC, but has only received “Prepared statements” that they do not make the ultimate decision for a dialysis unit (its the the ORN) but this does not confirm their support of our efforts going forward as indicated by Doug McGregor last summer. That is what we want and need from QHC, for them to state clearly that they support a dialysis unit at TMH.
According to Mike Cowan, his group has obtained proof that residents in this community need access to dialysis close to home NOW!. Dialysis patients are calling him personally and other members of his group weekly to discuss this matter.
