Sorting through the details

If it seems like there have been ups and downs in the quest to have an under one-roof health care facility for Lewisporte and area and then to try and save the lab and X-ray services you'd be right.

Following are some of the highlights in the journey and where things stood on Friday afternoon, but as this story is changing at such a fast-pace there could be further developments between the deadline for The Pilot and the Oct. 21 publication date.

A meeting of the Lewisporte and Area Chamber of Commerce with presentations by the Central West Health Corporation, physicians and community members was held on April 4, 2003. In a press release regarding the meeting the Chamber urged all its membership to attend the event "as we discuss this critical issue in the life of this area." In a Pilot article on the meeting it was noted that the one-roof health care facility for Lewisporte was deemed an absolute priority by the Central West Health Care Board. Doctors also shared their concerns about the inadequacy of the current system, something they say has been ignored for far too long.

In March of 2004 a petition was circulated calling for a one-roof health care facility. In a letter to the editor then Chamber president Reverend Arthur Elliott wrote, "We don't know at this stage if our efforts will have any impact or not. But we have sent a signal, that in this issue, which is so vital to the health and well being of these communities, we are not going away!" A total of 2,500 signatures from Lewisporte and surrounding communities were tallied.

Lobbying continued, government officials visited health care facilities in Lewisporte and $600,000 was allotted in 2006 for a feasibility study.

Fast-forward to Budget 2007 and The Pilot headline, "The wait is over: One-roof health care facility to become a reality."

The 2007 Provincial Budget came with the news that a total of $3 million had been allotted for design and site work of the new health care centre. At that time the plan was to have another $16.6 million allotted for the framework, construction and purchase/installation of equipment in fiscal '08. Then Lewisporte MHA Tom Rideout said the view was to completing the project in '09 with $10.5 million built into the framework for that.

In June of 2007 Central Health CEO Karen McGrath visited Lewisporte to speak about the North Haven Manor redevelopment. The price tag for what had been approved for the redevelopment at that point was $30 million over a three-year period. At that time diagnostic imaging and the physicians' offices were to be included in the under one-roof concept.

It was expected then that people would see work on the ground at North Haven Manor about a year from then in the spring/summer of 2008.

By August of 2008 it became apparent that the redevelopment project was going to be delayed and that $30 million wasn't going to be near enough to foot the bill for the project which was escalating in cost due to variables that increased the cost to $38 million. The project would have to be revisited to bring the price tag back in line with the original estimate.

In February of 2009 $800 million worth of infrastructure investments was announced by the Provincial Government. The one-roof health facility was not on the radar. People were told not to worry, that the project was making its way through Cabinet.

It was also in February that the Central Health Board put forward a list to the Provincial Government of 14 potential operating changes with #10 being the restructuring of laboratory and diagnostic imaging services in Lewisporte to amount to a savings of $222,573.

In April the Provincial Budget contained $5 million allocated to complete the final design work, tender call, ground preparation and laying of the foundation to start the redevelopment of North Haven Manor and create the under one-roof facility. Then Lewisporte Mayor Bill Hooper noted he was "cautiously optimistic about whether or not the project will begin this year."

In July local stakeholders requested a meeting with then Heath minister Ross Wiseman to discuss the status of the project and "a change in scope of the proposed project." Still, there was no mention that the lab or X-ray would be impacted.

In August the tendering process began for the redevelopment project. Then Health minister Paul Oram said the project cost had escalated to over $40 million, but had been brought back in line to around $30 million. He noted at that time that there would be some components of the original one-roof plan included in the final project, but not all of them. He said it was going to be a good news story for Lewisporte.

As was reported in the Aug 19 issue of The Pilot, work on the redevelopment was expected any day. Mr. Oram sat down with area representatives from the Town and the Lewisporte and Area Economic Development Committee to discuss the scope of the project. It was noted at that time that physicians offices would not be located in the redevelopment and neither would lab and x-ray. It was also reported that lab and x-ray would remain as is in Lewisporte for the time being. Municipal and Economic Development Committee representatives felt like they had an ally in Mr. Oram, saying that he encouraged them to continue to lobby for lab and X-ray services to be included in the under one-roof plans in the future.

Then came the Aug. 31 press release that the province is assessing lab and X-ray services and that while blood collection would remain in Lewisporte, testing and analysis and X-ray would move to Gander or Grand Falls-Windsor health care centres. Flower's Cove on the Northern Peninsula faced the same fate, along with the health centre operating on a 12-hour basis.

Thus started a string of events that has drawn in not only residents impacted in Lewisporte and area and Flower's Cove, but a whole province with other rural communities concerned about facing similar fates.

What followed has been protests, the formation of the Coalition of Concerned Citizens of Rural Newfoundland and Labrador who began an aggressive lobbying and advertising campaign on this issue, the resignation of the Straits-White Bay North MHA Trevor Taylor, followed by the resignation of Mr. Oram. Jerome Kennedy was then appointed Minister of Health. Since then the clinic in Flower's Cove has been reinstated to a 24-hour operation. Mr. Kennedy also met with community representatives in Lewisporte last Wednesday (see related article on page 1A). The Minister is expected to return to Lewisporte at the earliest by Friday of next week with news on whether or not a compromise could be found to somehow include the lab and X-ray in the redevelopment project. Whether or not that will change remains to be seen.

Then on Friday a further development reported through VOCM that Premier Danny Williams says he is almost 100 per cent sure the people of Flowers Cove will get to keep their lab and x-ray services. There was no mention of Lewisporte being included in that equation. The Pilot attempted to contact the Department of Health and Community Services on Friday afternoon for clarification on this issue but had not received word of anyone available to speak to us before deadline.

People will surely be keeping their fingers crossed that Lewisporte will no longer be a target for the removal of lab and X-ray services as this scenario continues to unfold and keep people guessing as to the future of local medical services.