By: Wayne Litke

Wow – a new level in health care was reached last week when the hospital in Maple Creek was suddenly closed, totally shut down, after an asbestos hazard was identified!

Yet, thanks to some innovative thinking and using the primary health care office (the doctor’s office) as a walk-in clinic, the system appears to have worked OK.
Rolling with the punches and being resilient, that kind of sums up residents’ relationship with the medical system in the southwest corner of the province. In the last decade, the area has seen hospitals replaced by integrated health facilities or clinics, doctors have moved on to greener pastures, and in the case of Maple Creek that has led to the closure of it’s hospital on occasion. The reduction in services is a sad fact of life for rural residents, but there is a renewed hope that a new hospital in Maple Creek will help address doctor shortages and health care frustrations.
However, less than a month after it was announced that an agreement had been reached on the size and services of Maple Creek’s future hospital, it’s old facility was shut down after asbestos was found in a ventilation area. The sudden closure of the hospital Feb. 25 and the immediate relocation of patients shocked local folks, including myself. It seemed like a drastic measure, but it was a precautionary one because the actual level of airborne contamination was not known.
As the body responsible for the health of its staff and patients at Maple Creek Hospital, Cypress Health Region had little choice as due diligence became the question management grappled with. Being unable to discuss specific details with the personnel involved has been frustrating, but that is how the system works. CHR’s communications officer provided a lot of information, but simply did not know the details that I (and residents) want to know as this column was being penned.
Some of the questions that I want to have answered are: how long has the asbestos been in the ventilation area and what did the air samples reveal in regards to airborne fibre concentration?
Asbestos is a nasty mineral that is in thousands of public and private buildings. It can cause pneumoconiosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. However, it is relatively harmless if it is not disturbed and is encased or sealed in such a way that fibres cannot be released. If asbestos is exposed and friable (crumbles with hand pressure), then it can present a health hazard, especially in a confined space such as a building. The hazard obviously becomes much greater if fibres can enter a heating or ventilation system.
I think Cypress Health Region should be commended on its fast and proactive approach to a hazard that could be anything from minute to extremely dangerous. However, I have a concern from observing trends in similar situations. When serious and fast action is required, the governing body typically demonstrates it is dealing with the cause by eliminating individuals. It’s a fast and political way of dealing with a difficult situation, and also provides the appearance of stopping at nothing to rectify a problem.
The truth is most incidents ranging from a near miss to a crisis have several root causes, some of which lead all the way from the ground worker to upper management. Judging from my own observations at the hospital over the weekend, improvements should not be limited to lower levels. There are basic deficiencies that have yet to be addressed, even though workers have been suspended. It’s easy to find fault after the fact, but the task of identifying the actual root causes and dealing with them is precisely what is required. 
On the positive side, employees and the Occupational Health Committee that looked into the asbestos concern are fulfilling their responsibilities well by striving to rectify safety concerns.