Downsizing contributes to ER problem

When he arrived in town five and a half months ago, some assumed the emergency department would be open around the clock and that wait times would be greatly reduced. In fact, the department is closed for a 12-hour period twice a week, and patients still find themselves waiting.

In an interview last week, Matsusaki said he sees about 45 patients on an average day, including true emergencies and “undiagnosed internal medicine type patients.”

Since there is a large local population without family physicians, many have no resort but to go to the emergency room

“Forty-five patients means long wait times,” says Matsusaki. “Workups may take 30 minutes to an hour. But if undiagnosed patients want to be helped, wait times are necessary.”

Matsusaki said part of his job is reviewing workups, labs, reports and X-rays, and as a result the department is closed for two 12-hour periods each week.

An additional frustration for emergency department staff is the shortage of medical beds.

“At one time, the hospital had 50 medical beds and now it has 20,” Matsusaki said. “This means there may be two, three, or even four patients being cared for by emergency staff, while they wait for medical beds.

He suggests that Digby should active protesting the downsizing of the hospital. “The appearance is that the hospital is undergoing a natural process of attrition--but this apparent attrition is being facilitated at the bureaucratic level,” he said.

Matsusaki acquired a reputation for speaking out at his previous position in Alberton, P.E.I. During four years there, he brought the attention of the national media to a possible link between rare cancers in the area and the high use of pesticides on Island potato farms.

After Matsusaki made his concerns public, the provincial government launched an investigation into the incidence of cancer.