Why funding promised in 2012 took five years to reach Kitchener's St. Mary's Hospital
'St. Mary’s should not have to be fighting Queen’s Park and this Liberal government'
St. Mary's Hospital in Kitchener has been lauded at the national level for its work with cardiac patients, but the chief of cardiovascular services say they still struggle to get funding from the province.
- St. Mary's Hospital receives $3.6M to do more cardiac procedures
- St. Mary's Hospital gets $7M for expanded cardiac services from Ontario government
In 2016, St. Mary's was named the safest hospital in Canada for the second time in five years. On Oct. 31, a report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information said the Kitchener hospital performed better than the national average in every single category when it came to quality outcomes for cardiac patients.
When held up against 38 other cardiac centres, St. Mary's was among the top three – the Ottawa Heart Institute and Vancouver General also shared the top spots – and the report noted St. Mary's mortality rate for cardiac surgery was less than half the national rate.
"We've always suspected we did good work, just because of our own internal data and because Ontario is very good at keeping track of outcomes, so we get quarterly reports," Dr. Brian McNamara told CBC News.
"But this is the first time that we've sort of been compared to all the other centres across the country and it kind of validates what we've always suspected but have never been able to really prove."
St. Mary's 'deprived' of funding
That's why it's frustrating for staff at the hospital who know it can do more to help patients – but they're not getting the funding from the provincial government.
"There is some element of anticipation at St. Mary's in that we feel that we should be given the opportunity to undertake more complex work," McNamara said.
"St. Mary's, in my view, has been deprived of the resources needed to acquire more advanced technology, such as electrophysiology and more advanced valve technologies, that we simply do not have access to at this point."
In 2012, St. Mary's applied for – and was approved for – $7 million in funding to build a new electrophysiology lab.
But a few months into planning, the hospital asked the province for an additional $2 million to expand the scope of the project.
Nothing happened on the file until June 2016, when Health Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins re-announced the $7 million for St. Mary's.
In October, St. Mary's withdrew the request for an extra $2 million and said it will move ahead with the project with the $7 million that has already been approved.
Fighting Queen's Park
The fact the province wouldn't give the hospital the extra $2 million for the project is frustrating, Kitchener Conestoga MPP Michael Harris said.
Harris, a Progressive Conservative, noted St. Mary's Hospital cardiac program was launched at the same time as Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga and Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket launched back in the late 1990s.
Both of those other facilities have electrophysiology labs up and running – Southlake since 2003 and Trillium as of 2007. All three hospitals serve about the same size population, Harris said.
"It's 2017 and St. Mary's does not have its electrophysiology suite," he said.
There was a press conference, there was a ribbon cutting and a photo op and that appears to be what this government is now very good at – at looking like they're responding to the needs of communities.- Kitchener-Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife
NDP MPP Catherine Fife, who serves the riding of Kitchener-Waterloo, said she, Harris and Kitchener Centre MPP Daiene Vernile all worked together for funding and even with Vernile – a Liberal – they were unable to get the government to grant the extra $2 million.
"They came to St. Mary's, there was a press conference, there was a ribbon cutting and a photo op and that appears to be what this government is now very good at – at looking like they're responding to the needs of communities," Fife said.
"St. Mary's should not have to be fighting Queen's Park and this Liberal government to get the funding that [the government] promised five years ago."
Change to proposal required review
In a statement to CBC News, Dr. Eric Hoskins's office said the ministry "worked with the hospital to approve an existing $7 million proposal for cardiac care. This was communicated to the hospital a year ago."
The ministry said the hospital "recently" made changes to its proposal, asking for an additional $2 million.
"This would require an additional review and analysis by the ministry," the statement said.
Now that the hospital has gone back to the original $7 million, "they can begin tendering the contract any day."
Vernile also said changing the initial proposal led to the delay.
But she said the province is "well aware of St. Mary's work" and that the hospital "punches way above its weight in outcomes for heart patients." She noted the hospital was also given $3.6 million in March to increase the number of cardiac procedures it does and another $500,000 for intensive care beds.
"That money is there for them, they just need to tender the project and sign a construction company to do the job," she said in an interview on The Morning Edition with Craig Norris.
Listen to the interview with MPP Vernile:
'Putting lives at risk'
That answer isn't good enough, Fife said.
"The question I think for people in Kitchener-Waterloo is: Why are they leaving us behind?"
"After all of the pressure we've put on, after the acknowledgement that this lab actually can save lives and is really a part of managing complex heart conditions and can be very proactive – I mean, that's the irony is that this lab actually will save lives and save money down the line and certainly improve the quality of lives for people in Kitchener-Waterloo," she said.
Harris agreed.
"I struggle to accept the government's response to that question. I believe they're being dishonest with people, especially in the Region of Waterloo," he said.
"The Liberal government has failed to live up to its commitment and promise to fund this desperately needed EP."
McNamara said the staff at St. Mary's are proud of the work they've done and continue to do.
And, he said they feel ready to take on more challenges to better serve patients.
Staff has shown that they're very capable of doing the best work in the country and I think we deserve an opportunity to do more.- Dr. Brian McNamara, chief of cardiovascular services at St. Mary's Hospital
They've proven their abilities on a national level. Now they just need the province to give them the money to make the improvements necessary.
"We've proven that we can do the day-to-day work better than most centres in the country," he said of procedures such as bypass, valve surgery, angioplasty and stenting.
"St. Mary's deserves the opportunity to move forward and acquire some newer technologies that are going to require some resources to prove that we can do those kinds of things as well. I think the people in this region deserve that," he said.
"I think the staff has shown that they're very capable of doing the best work in the country and I think we deserve an opportunity to do more in terms of expanding the program to include more advanced technologies."
With files from Carmen Ponciano