Staffing woes plague cancer treatment in Manitoba
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* David Square

Manitoba cancer patients are heading to the US for treatment because of a shortage of radiation therapists. The therapists, who had been without a contract since October 1999, finally signed a new 4-year deal in late July.

Ken Swan, labour relations officer with the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, which represents more than 40 radiation therapists, says there are about 12 vacancies for radiation therapists in Manitoba but they are unlikely to be filled because of the greener pastures outside the province. ”Young, mobile therapists are leaving to seek higher wages,” he says. (The therapists provide the radiation prescribed by physicians.)

Dr. Brent Schacter, a medical oncologist and president and CEO of CancerCare Manitoba, says the 50 to 60 Manitoba patients who have been sent to the Altru Hospital in Grand Forks, North Dakota, represent only a small percentage of the 2800 patients treated with radiation in Manitoba each year at CancerCare. Schacter said the Manitoba government created a fund last fall to send patients to Grand Forks because of the shortage of radiation therapists and a long waiting list.

That waiting list may get even longer if x-ray technicians who supply some services to CancerCare walk off the job. They recently picketed in front of Winnipeg‚s largest tertiary hospital, the Health Sciences Centre, demanding parity with x-ray technicians in other provinces. ”I could earn $3 per hour more if I moved to Saskatoon,” said Al Saydak. He said the HSC‚s 65 x-ray technicians have been without a contract for 14 months and are the lowest paid in Manitoba and Canada.

Health Minister Dave Chomiak said he will not get into a bidding war for health care professionals, even though other provinces pay much higher wages and offer signing bonuses. —