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Pond Inlet calls for full-time doctor Dr. Patty DeMaio's absence in community still felt after five years
Myles Dolphin
Northern News Services
Published Monday, September 2, 2013
MITTIMATALIK/POND INLET
Five years after the departure of Pond Inlet's community physician, the desire to have a full-time doctor in the hamlet is still great.
Tununiq MLA Joe Enook of Pond Inlet has asked the legislative assembly to fill the need the community has for a full-time physician. - NNSL file photo |
When Dr. Patty DeMaio left Pond Inlet for Iqaluit in 2008, the effect was felt immediately.
In 2010, then Tununiq MLA James Arvaluk expressed concern about the lack of a replacement.
Last year, current MLA Joe Enook broached the subject once again at the legislative assembly and was told there were no plans to recruit for Pond Inlet.
DeMaio, who was the hamlet's first community physician, also made regular trips to Arctic Bay, Grise Fiord, Resolute Bay and Clyde River.
Pond Inlet resident Sheila Katsak was pregnant with her son during DeMaio's tenure in the community. Katsak said she was able to stay home and receive ultrasounds and checkups instead of having to go to Iqaluit.
"The full attention during this pregnancy was a privileged time because the visits were positive and the father could also visit during those checkups," she said.
"The physician was attentive. I'm not saying the nurses were/are not but the extra ability, knowledge and experience that a physician could give is an added bonus to patients, as well as being familiar with the patient's background."
Enook is still lobbying to replace DeMaio. He said while nurses and locum doctors are doing a great job in the community, the goal is always to have a full-time physician.
He argues that despite the costs associated with having one - housing, salary and other expenses - it's still more efficient than flying patients down to Iqaluit.
"I'm just not convinced their (the Government of Nunavut) reasoning outweighs the pros of having someone up there," he said.
"There aren't any numbers to disqualify my position. They would save money in physician travel by having someone there."
Enook said there is a pilot project currently taking place in the community, where the position of nurse practitioner - above a regular nurse but below a doctor - is being tried out.
He said as much as he appreciates the position, it doesn't quite fill the shoes of a physician.
"When the nurses need someone to offer advice or a diagnosis, there's no one there," he said.
Katsak said medical travel is stressful enough without the added uncertainty of being treated by a doctor she doesn't know. She acknowledges that having a full-time doctor is a privilege and it would provide relief to overworked and understaffed nurses.
Stephen Cole, acting director of medical services for the GN's Department of Health, said there are recruitment challenges across Canada but especially in the North.
While the region is a great place for doctors to start a family practice and get their hands on a bit of everything, they are unlikely to commit to a long-term placement.
"Sometimes our locums come back two to three times a year," Cole said.
"They develop familiarity with their patients and often know them by name. It often leads into longer locums."
Cole said while there isn't anyone physically in Pond Inlet full-time, there's always a physician responsible for the community's residents.
"The communities are never left unstaffed," he said.
"We have physicians in Iqaluit who keep in touch with the community health nurse in Pond Inlet, who runs the community in the absence of a doctor. Every Baffin Island community has a physician representative in Iqaluit and patient care coverage is the most important."
He added nurses can always get a hold of a doctor in Iqaluit by using a 24-hour emergency pager.
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