All cancer care services under one roof 'not feasible' in Kamloops: health ministry

Critics of the upcoming Kamloops cancer clinic want the plans redrawn to avoid splitting chemotherapy and radiation services, but the province says it's simply not feasible. The BC Ministry of Health cited space constraints when asked about the new facility that will keep chemotherapy and radiation treatments in separate buildings. "While we understand that some members of the Kamloops community may want to have all cancer care services under one roof, this is not feasible given the limited space available on the Royal Inland Hospital campus," a written response from the ministry read. Former Health Minister Adrian Dix didn't entertain the notion of revisiting the plan, but local lobbying will continue after the fall election and NDP cabinet shuffle. Kamloops city councillor Mike O'Reilly, who chairs the Thompson Regional Hospital District, has penned a letter to new Health Minister Josie Osborne in an effort to have a "fresh set of eyes" on the plans for the cancer centre. READ MORE: Kamloops cancer centre lobbying continues due to split services https://infotel.ca/newsitem/kamloops-cancer-centre-lobbying-continues-due-to-split-services/it107465 The $359 million cancer centre is poised to have radiation treatment, a new MRI, a CT simulator and ten exam rooms within two floors. The other three floors are dedicated to parking. Several oncology services, including chemotherapy and the pharmacy, will remain in the hospital building. The land available for the new cancer centre has been "maximized," while the "primary goal" is to bring radiation therapy to Kamloops as early as possible, according to the ministry. Patients currently drive to Kelowna for their treatments. Along with splitting the services between buildings, it means cancer care staff and record keeping are expected to be split between Interior Health and BC Cancer Agency. "From everything we've found, there's no other jurisdiction in North America that operates under that model," Coun. O'Reilly said last week. The hospital-based oncology services are going to be moved and will share with the expanding pharmacy, which also means there's access to "code blue response teams" in the hospital. READ MORE: Penticton fraudster convinced everyone she had cancer — including her husband https://infotel.ca/newsitem/penticton-fraudster-convinced-everyone-she-had-cancer-including-her-husband/it107437 "Relocating systemic therapy services to the standalone building would require adding a pharmacy to the proposed cancer centre (increasing costs significantly) and would not enable code team response," the ministry said. The ministry statement didn't directly respond to concerns around record keeping and splitting staff between two health authorities, but it did say it's working with the hospital district, BC Cancer and Interior Health to give patients a "seamless experience" and "comprehensive care." Coun. O'Reilly will continue to lobby for second review of the plans by the new minister of health, and he said the hospital district has been waiting for eight months for a rationale for separating the services. "From our side, we don't really care how it works, we just want the best model for patients seeking cancer treatment," O'Reilly said. While the plan has been met with criticism, there is no indication the province has considered backing out on the cancer centre after the long-awaited announcement that came earlier this year. To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry mailto:llandry@infonews.ca  or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .