South coast towns frustrated with closure of dialysis unit, other cuts

The mayors of two communities on Newfoundland's south coast are frustrated following cuts to health care services in their communities, and said so in a protest that drew more than 100 residents on Saturday. 

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Harbour Breton Mayor Roy Drake said people in his town are not happy that Harbour Breton's new $2-million dialysis unit will be closed and replaced with long term beds, and that two nursing positions will be cut. 

"We're upset as a community and as a region," he said.

"The dialysis was a brand new unit opened up a couple years ago, and they're telling us the numbers don't warrant keeping it open at this time."

The government is basically telling them you have to move to St. John's or Grand Falls, and that's wrong.- Roy Drake, Harbour Breton mayor

Drake said a study was conducted on the use of the dialysis unit, which found there were now only three regular users, but said it's important to consider future patients. 

"We're concerned about the future. This is a beautiful, beautiful facility, and in the future, there's high [rates of] diabetes on this coast, in this region," he said.

"Next year this time, there may be 10 people."

He said two of the three patients using the service may now be forced to move to a larger community far from Harbour Breton.

"The government is basically telling them you have to move to St. John's or Grand Falls, and that's wrong," he said.

The loss of the two dialysis nurses in Harbour Breton will also affect services at the hospital, Drake said, as the nurses work in the hospital when dialysis is not in use.

Clinic closure in Hermitage

The protest, organized the Town of Harbour Breton and attended by the Newfoundland Association of Public and Private Employees, drew people from several communities in the area.

Hermitage Mayor Steve Crewe said that his community has also been struck by health care cuts, as the clinic there will be closing on June 2 and residents will have to travel to Harbour Breton for services. 

"In our town, there's about 450 people, and about 75 per cent of those people are seniors. For them to be able to drive to Harbour Breton, which is a 45 minute drive on a good day, it's going to put a lot of stress on them," he said.

Crewe said some people need to visit a clinic once a week.

"There was a nurse practitioner there [at the Hermitage clinic] two days a week, she was looking after 30 to 40 patients a week, whether it be refills or just regular appointments, and now we're going to have to drive 45 minutes just to get an appointment," he said.

Crewe said other communities in the area that relied on the services in Hermitage will also have to travel even farther for medical care.