Dialysis patient in eastern P.E.I. calls for care closer to home

Bev Johnston says the nearly four hours of dialysis she has to endure three times a week is tiring enough without having to also travel back and forth between her Brudenell home and Charlottetown.

The 84-year-old woman is calling on the P.E.I. government to restore dialysis service at Kings County Memorial Hospital in Montague, just minutes from her home. That would mean she wouldn't have to face the more than 40 kilometre drive to and from Charlottetown three times a week.

Johnston, who has also been treated for breast cancer, has been on dialysis for four years. 

In the early days, she could have her dialysis at home. 

But an infection prevented her from continuing that line of treatment so she's now receiving dialysis at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

'When I come home I'm tired'

"Some people are bothered more than others and some people are very sick when they are receiving this. I consider myself one of the luckier ones, really because I'm still mobile," Johnston said in an interview at her Brudenell home. 

'But it consumes a great deal of my time and with the added travel, that's what the problem is. If I didn't have to travel, I think I could lead a relatively normal life or more normal than what I am because when I come home I'm tired."

Johnston said the travel is not only challenging for her, it's also challenging for her husband, Doug, who does all the driving.

"It's quite a burden for him," she added. 

"I know you can't have a dialysis clinic every few miles but we have a regional hospital here in Montague."         

Hemodialysis services at the Kings County Memorial Hospital were last offered nearly 20 years ago, in 2001. 

Having service closer 'a huge help'

Currently the services are offered in Souris, Charlottetown, Summerside, and Alberton.

Cory Deagle, the PC MLA for Montague-Kilmuir, has been pushing his government to restore dialysis services in Montague.

Deagle first raised the issue during the fall session of the P.E.I. Legislature. He said he continues to push government to expand dialysis services in southern Kings.

"It's physically draining and mentally draining, and having to travel that distance usually they need someone to take them there, stay with them, and then come back home," said Deagle.

"Usually they are drained for the day so it ends up taking a number of days through the week to have to go back and forth to Charlottetown or Souris. So being able to have that service close to home would be a huge help."  

In a statement to CBC News, Health PEI said it "appreciates and takes seriously the concerns raised by members of the community" and "empathize with the difficulties those who require dialysis experience, including the requirements to frequently travel for treatment."

'It would almost be unbearable'

Health PEI said at this time the Montague facility and resources "do not allow for hemodialysis to be established."

However, it is proceeding with a master hospital planning process for health-care services in the region.

"This process will allow for stakeholders to collaboratively determine the vision and priorities for how and where services are delivered in the region. Hemodialysis will be a part of that discussion."

Johnston said she's had nothing but excellent care in Charlottetown.

"They are so accommodating. If it weren't for them being so good, I think it would almost be unbearable. They do everything they can to ease your discomfort."

But she's hopeful the care can be offered a little closer to home soon not only for her but for other people who need dialysis in the southern Kings region.

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