Many physicians feel Sydenham Campus is ‘unsafe’

wallaceburg ER

The chief doctor in charge of emergency medicine at the CKHA says many physicians refuse to work at the Sydenham Campus in Wallaceburg because they feel it is “unsafe.”

Dr. Indraneel Ghosh, chief of emergency medicine and the senior medical director of strategy, access and flow, responded to a question by the Sydenham Current at media conference held by the Medical Advisory Committee of the CKHA.

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The Sydenham Current referred to a slide mentioned in their presentation about the number of resuscitations that take place each month at both the Chatham and Sydenham campuses of the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, and asked the panel of doctors how many physicians worked shifts at both locations.

“There are a small minority that rotate through both sites,” Dr. Ghosh said.

“People in the public think ‘I am with a physician, I’m saved’… not true. You can have three physicians, if you don’t have nurses, if you don’t have the right resources, you don’t have the right teams, you’re not saved.”

Dr. Ghosh said this concept was evident during a personal trip back to Canada from India.

“I was returning from India with my wife and a person collapsed,” he said.

“There was me, my wife, there was three nurses, we had an automatic defibrillator and we worked on him while the plane was descending and everyone else was strapped in. We did not save him. People may think I had the physician, I’m going to be saved. It’s not about just the physicians. It’s about the team. Again, the Canadian Stroke Strategy, you look at the STEMI strategies, it’s about having the team and having all of your resources.”

Dr. Ghosh said Wallaceburg is not a spot where many doctors, young or old, want to work.

“A lot of our new trainees who come in to train will not work there because they feel it is unsafe,” he said.

“A lot of our experienced physicians, some who have extra training in emergency medicine and special certifications in emergency medicine will not work there because they feel it is unsafe. If you talk about recruitment and retention, now we’re going beyond and past quality, safety and other reasons why a systemic change needs to take place. At the end of the day, the base of this lies in safety and quality.”

Dr. Ranjith Chandrasena, chief of medical staff at CKHA, said the most experience is at the Chatham ER, compared to Wallaceburg.

“It is true that physicians do work in both places,” Dr. Chandrasena said.

“If you had a stroke or you had a heart attack. what is the best place, at the best time… would you rather turn up at a place that has not had that experience or would you go to the place that every time there would be the person that is experienced. I think that is the way I would answer that question.”

A Chatham-only ER plan is being endorsed by the Medical Advisory Committee (MAC) of the CKHA.

The panel of doctors announced this during the press conference on April 27.

Check out their full presentation here: Chatham-only ER plan endorsed

7 COMMENTS

  1. So ……GIVE US SOME MORE NURSES AND EXPERIENCED PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don’t shut us down!
    Why wouldn’t we get the same amount of care that Chatham gets? I thought we where supposed to benefit by amalgamating with Chatham,,,,,so far we have always gotten the sh(*&T end of the stick! and that’s for everything not just hospital cuts!

  2. If that building is unsafe that is a leadership issue or lack of. Deal with the issues that need to be address to make the facility safe! There is Ministry dollars for infrastructure and renovations for Ontario Hospitals.

  3. That is the biggest load of BS I have ever read. Someone needs to print the truth about what really goes on between these hospital’s. The dirty laundry that Chatham is airing is the most unprofessional thing I’ve ever seen. The truth is the doctors and nurses in Wallaceburg have more experience and have more skills than the bosses in Chatham will ever know. I would never wish anyone harm but if the higher ups in Chatham ever suffered a sudden illness or injury they would be in the best care possible if they ended in Wallaceburg.Chatham stop running the staff and hospital and the people if Wallaceburg down to try and make you look good. You can put lipstick in a pig but its still a pig.

  4. What a load of crap! Chatham steals our hospital blind and declares it unsafe. I thank the people that work at the Sydenham Campus. On numerous occasions I have been very happy and thankful to be treated there.

  5. WILL CHATHAM RESIDENTS DRIVE AROUND FOR 1/2 AN HOUR INSTEAD OF GOING STRAIGHT THERE.
    SINCE AMALGAMATION CHATHAM KENT YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STATE IT IS IN
    Please fix our issues
    WILL AMBULANCE FEES BE PAID BY CHATHAM

  6. Dr. Ghosh, who is no doubt a fine doctor but has very limited experience in small and rural ERs or hospitals, owes an apology to the absolutely fantastic doctors, nurses and staff who work at Sydenham District Hospital. These doctors, nurses and staff can take care of myself and my family any time and with my 100% confidence. The CKHA Administration should also apologize to these same doctors, nurses and staff for the lack of any vision and support over the years. I reiterate what I said before – what the Ministry, LHIN and CKHA need to do is ask the ER doctors and nurses and health care staff who know ERs what their experience is and how SDH can and should be run so that is can prosper and do what it needs to do – provide health care to a catchment area of over 21,000 people. While at it they should also seek small and rural hospital experts located right here in Ontario and ask them why small rural hospitals thrive in many other locations but have struggled under the CKHA leadership. While I am at it – I know the SDH Board is ready and willing to get back to work and sort all of this out – if the other two Boards still refuse to do so then they should do us all a favour and resign.

  7. I had a test done there yesterday but I had a reaction. They treated me very well. All the nurses and Dr.’s were very knowledgeable, kind, and pleasant.
    They were very busy with emergencies but still checked on me. Thank you. I would go back and recommend Wallaceburg to everyone.
    Thank you so much staff! I am doing very well today. God Bless each and everyone.

Comments are closed.

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