Hospital supports ‘fair and equitable access’ to PET scans - Carol Hartman

The discussion around bringing a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner to northeastern Ontario has heightened public interest in PET and its benefits to patients as a leading edge diagnostic tool that helps to identify and guide the treatment of serious illness.

It has also mobilized many concerned members of our community to advocate for what is an equity and access to care issue for residents of our region.

The Hôpital regional de Sudbury Regional Hospital (HRSRH) supports fair and equitable access for people living in the northeast to this valuable diagnostic tool. The hospital’s role is to advocate and determine the resource requirements that will allow us to respond to the needs of our people. You have been clear in your desire to have access to this advancement in care. This is why the board of directors passed a motion to create a Northeastern Ontario PET Scan Advisory Group.

We believe this Advisory Group represents a significant step forward in the goal of creating equitable access to PET Scan technology for the patients we serve. The group will ensure we have the appropriate community support, clinical and financial expertise for the development of a business case for a PET Scan in the northeast from a clinical, research, operational, and financial perspective.

The purpose of the business case is to inform the HRSRH’s board, our health care partners and people across the region as to what will be required for the acquisition of a PET Scanner for Sudbury and northeastern Ontario. It is important that we be able to clearly demonstrate for the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care the need in our region for this investment.

We know there will be significant challenges in bringing a PET Scanner to northeastern Ontario. Limited OHIP approvals, capped clinical volumes, one-time and recurring operating costs and funding limitations are some of the issues we will need to address.

Nevertheless, the hospital has a stated responsibility for being accountable to its patients and the communities we serve by constantly advocating for and seeking resources to provide the best, safest and most appropriate health care services.

We take our responsibility to the communities we serve with the utmost gravity. Through the Northeastern Ontario PET Scan Advisory Group, we have set ourselves on the path to achieving the goal of fair and equitable access to PET Scan technology for northeastern Ontario.

To view the presentation given to the HRSRH board of directors on Oct. 13, please visit www.hrsrh.on.ca.

Carol Hartman is the chair of the Sudbury Regional Hospital Board of Directors.