The Board of Directors of the Sunrise Health Region were given a snapshot of the Health Services portfolio at its regular monthly meeting held Oct. 31 in the city.
Roberta Wiwcharuk, Vice President of Health Services told the Board the portfolio is a diverse one, including acute care services, long term care services, diagnostic services, emergency medical services, and emergency preparedness/disaster planning.
In terms of acute care services Wiwcharuk said there are six facilities in the region, with a total of 185 acute care beds.
There were 67,494 emergency room visits at the facilities last year.
"We do see lots of emergency room visits throughout the region," said Wiwcharuk.
Wiwcharuk said there were 3,154 surgeries, short of the target of 3,300.
There were 725 obstetric deliveries, down from 760 a year previous.
One area where numbers have gone up substantially is the level of chemotherapy.
"We've seen quite an increase in the doses," said Wiwcharuk, adding the difference is seen in more doses of chemotherapy per patient.
As a result "we're feeling some pressures based on the number of patients and doses," she said.
Wiwcharuk said there are also 13 long term care facilities in the region, with 810 long term care beds, six transition beds, and 36 beds for respite, stroke rehab and related programs.
There are 10 laboratories providing services in the region, with two additional collection sites at Invermay and Theodore.
There are also 10 medical imaging departments within the SHR.
Ambulance services for the region are supplied by six private operators, and four operated by the SHR, said Wiwcharuk.
There are also 48 first responders "down a little bit from last year," said Wiwcharuk, who added it is hoped an upcoming course in Melville will help boost numbers.
For the year 2011-12 there were 6519 emergency response calls.
The Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS) is now operational and has flown 11 missions to SRH, eight being inter-facility transfers, and three picking patients up at the scene rather than from a medical facility, said Wiwcharuk.
At present there are 32 general practitioners serving in the SHR, with 43 specialists, including visiting and locum, said Wiwcharuk. She said the Region continues to work toward recruiting an additional radiologist and an internist.
New to the Region is a physician locum.
"It's a second year resident," said Wiwcharuk, who added "we think that will be quite helpful," in covering off doctor vacations, leaves and similar situations throughout the region.
