Transportation: Retired surgeon wants to help cancer patients get to treatments

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Robert LaFrance
the victoria star

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PERTH-ANDOVER - Dr. Brian Sykes, for decades the head of surgery at Perth-Andover's Hotel Dieu of St. Joseph hospital, hasn't stopped caring for those with medical problems just because he's been retired for a few years. Seeing the high - and rising - costs incurred by those who have to travel for hours for cancer treatments, he has suggested a pilot project that would see as many as 10 patients and their partners travel together to Saint John on Perth-Andover's 21-passenger bus. A vital point was to arrange with the Saint John clinic for those travelling on the bus to have all their appointments set between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Wednesdays.

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Robert LaFrance/the victoria star

Retired surgeon Dr. Brian Sykes of Perth-Andover is heading a pilot project.

"I suggested these times so the travelling people don't have to get up any more at 6 a.m. to get down there for the early appointments. Often the doctor will say to the patient: 'I will see you in three months', they go to the desk and get an appointment for eight o'clock in the morning without any thought from the receptionist about how far away they live. No fault to them I guess, but that's what would happen. They have agreed now that they will try and give our patients - from certain postal codes - appointments during those hours on Wednesdays."

Dr. Sykes, interviewed last week at his home in Perth-Andover, said that he had thought for some time about the problems of cancer patients getting to their appointments, and felt there had to be a better way.

"With the great increase in gas prices a couple of summers ago, it seemed as if it would be a huge burden for people going back and forth," he said. "Then the village got the new bus. I asked at the civic centre if there were any possibility of being able to rent it and yes there is. It's insured, but you have to have a driver with the right qualifications.

"The next thing was try to organize with the region in Saint John, so they could give our patients a block booking. Often they go down for a 10-minute visit and that's very costly. The thing was to persuade (the clinic doctors) to see patients from our area on one particular day of the week. On Wednesdays, most of the doctors in the department are doing clinics and it would seem that they could put in 10 or 12 of our patients on Wednesday. I talked extensively with Dr. Kumar when he was chairman of the department and he said it was a good idea and the department meeting said yes, we'll try and do this. They're on board."

Dr. Sykes said that every month 40 or 50 patients from the Grand Falls-Woodstock area go to Saint John for treatments.

"From the numbers I've had, it would seem that we could manage a bus a week in due course if everybody wanted to use it. We won't know until we try."

He asked that those patients who are interested in taking the bus to Saint John, rather than private vehicles, call Pam Tompkins at 273-7199, which is Hotel Dieu's surgery administrative office. If ten patients and ten partners go, the price would be in the $26-$30 range per person.

"One way we will find out about the numbers is for when the patients get their next appointment to be told at the booking office 'see you on a Wednesday between eleven and three'. Over a three-month period we ought to be able to get everybody into that one block (of time)."

Dr. Sykes said that initially the effort will be a pilot project to see how many people would prefer to ride on the bus, which would be much cheaper and convenient for them.

"It would be nice to do a trial, maybe three months to see if it can grow and be successful. Initially patients can phone 273-7199 and get a booking on the bus.

"If it were successful I would like to think we can find some sponsorship or funding from elsewhere, perhaps a bank or local charities to help, but I think it should be patient-funded and self-sustaining. The biggest problem I see is cancellations at the last minute.

"I realize not everybody is going to want to do it, but I hope those who do will phone and let us know so we can get a good idea about numbers. I'm not sure what sort of structure we'd need eventually - bank accounts, tickets, administration - but if people phone we can get a good idea."