Care is expanding closer to home with the addition of pulmonary function testing services at Campbellford Memorial Hospital (CMH.)
Over time, hospital staff say this will increase access to diagnostic testing for patients not just in the Trent Hills area, but throughout Northumberland, Hastings and Peterborough counties.
For residents wondering what this latest addition means, Chief of Medicine and Dr. Shiyam Loganathan tells us more.
Loganathan – who will also be the one reading and interpreting PFT results – says this is a critical tool for CMH when it comes to both diagnostics and helping people manage diseases.
What’s more, the return of these services at CMH isn’t supposed to just improve patient outcomes and local access, but it’s also anticipated to reduce delays for people needing these tests and strains on nearby hospital partners in Peterborough and Durham, as examples, explains Loganathan.
Loganathan also notes these tests don’t translate to a huge burden or cost on the healthcare system – and will also have long-term payoffs when it comes to preventing and managing diseases.
Meanwhile, for patients, it’s also not going to be time consuming.
For these tests, Loganathan adds no radiation, medications, or needles involved.
Initially, CMH’s respiratory team will start out smaller with its referrals and patients in its more immediate coverage area – but the hope is to in a short time open it up to the region.
Put another way, this could easily translate to more than 1,000 residents helped annually.
CMH says the return of these services is part of a broader effort to strengthen integrated community care and access to diagnostic services locally.
“Having pulmonary function testing available again at CMH means patients no longer need to travel to facilities outside their community for this important diagnostic service,” adds Wendy Cross, a respiratory therapist at CMH. “It allows us to support timely testing and helps clinicians make informed decisions sooner.”
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)
