BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN
The president of the medical staff at Sudbury Regional Hospital says he’s troubled by recent media reports that imply physicians do not get along with the hospital’s board and administration.
While he understands doctors may not agree with everything the board does, Dr. Rayudu Koka says he’s done his best to keep an ongoing dialogue between the two groups.
He represents the views of doctors at monthly hospital board meetings.
“Any time the doctors come up to talk to me, we discuss patient issues and I bring it up at the board. It’s an ongoing thing,” he says.
“The board is a volunteer board, and they work hard, and they do care about any issue that is brought up to them. They then see if there’s anything they can do.”
Doctors also have the chance to talk to hospital CEO Vickie Kaminski, board chair Gisele Chretien, and chief of staff Dr. Chris McKibbon in person at medical association staff meetings four times a year, says Koka, a consulting psychiatristin the city.
Dr. Miguel Bonin complained recently in the media about the hospital’s old equipment, overcrowded facilities and behind-schedule capital construction project.
After the doctor went public with his comments, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care George Smitherman criticized the hospital board and administration, saying millions in provincial funding doesn’t seem to be making things better.
The cabinet minister’s public remarks were somewhat unprecedented, as were Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci’s public criticisms of Smitherman, a member of his caucus.
Koka will not comment on Smitherman’s statements, saying he’ll “leave that to the politicians.”
The hospital board and administration will meet with Smitherman March 7, in Toronto to discuss his concerns. The psychiatrist isn’t sure whether he will be invited to attend the meeting.
As for Bonin, Koka says if the doctor had shared his concerns with him, he would have brought them to the hospital board and made sure they were dealt with.
Bonin’s concerns about old equipment and hospital buildings will be solved when the one-site hospital is completed in two to three years, Koka says.
“Everybody’s frustrated about what’s happening. The delay in the hospital construction is one reason. At last we can finally look forward to going ahead. For 15 years, we have imagined that these old buildings are going to be closed down,” he says.
“If somebody has a house, and they’re told it will be demolished in three years, they just get a repair here and there. You don’t put a lot of money into it. This is the same kind of unfortunate situation we are in with two of the hospitals.”
More funding for long-term care and home care is also needed to make sure patients who are waiting for these services aren’t tying up acute-care beds in the hospital, he says.
Despite all these problems, Koka says whenever he talks to patients, they seem to be happy with their care.
Koka is also supportive of the CEO.
“Since Vickie took over, there has been stability in the senior management team. She has done what she has been told to do like balancing the budgets and following all the requirements of the supervisor who was appointed by the provincial government.”
