The Oakville Beaver, W ednesday N ovem ber 21, 2001 - A 3 Futile search for doctor leads to emergency surgery for new resident By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The shortage o f family physicians in town nearly had dire consequences for one couple w ho recently m oved to Oakville. For more than a month. Dale Millar searched in vain for a family doctor for his wife Linda, who required treatment for a gall bladder condition. He contacted more than two dozen local doctors' offices and a dozen other health and political agencies without any success. Last week, his 46-year-old wife w as rushed to O akville-T rafalgar M em orial H ospital's (O TM H ) Emergency department, where she was tested, diagnosed, and had emergency gall bladder surgery. "People are suffering, people like my wife, w ho may not have required surgery if one doctor in this area had answered the need o f one family," said Millar, 47. Days after his w ife's emergency sur gery, M illar sent an angry letter to local m edia and politicians. "The doctors who see this as a dollars and cents issue should rem em ber the sound o f a newborn baby ; the senior who literally has one friend, you; the person who suffers from a disabling problem to whom you give relief," wrote Millar. On Oct. 1, the couple m oved to Oakville from North York, where they did have a family doctor. x "I'm sorry w e left North York. I'm sorry we m oved to Oakville. Everything in Oakville is for the better, but what good is it if you don't have a doctor?" said Millar. The couple is now making the tw o-hour drive to the family doctor in North York. M illar speaks in glowing terms of OTM H where his wife was treated. He has, however, been frustrated else where. Millar said, the couple had used a doctor's availability list from the hospi tal. They phoned doctors' referral service provided by the College o f Physicians & Surgeons and M illar said they went to eight local medical buildings. He also contacted the Halton Health Department, neighbouring Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital, Oakville M P Bonnie Brown, Oakville M PP Gary Carr and finally. Ward 5 Councillor Janice Caster. "The only politician that had any suggestions for me was in fact my last con tact, being Janice Caster," said Millar. Others, he said, didn't answer his calls, or did so belatedly, and their staff "tried to find fault in everyone for causing the problem ." M illar said he spoke to a trio o f dochospital and got the im p r e s s io n it's more profitable as a hospital doctor than in private practice. " H a s g r e e d becom e the p h y s ic ia n 's H ip p o c ra tic O a t h ? " asked Millar. `T o the · Dale M iller people at the doctor's referral service, 23 different doctors' offices, Joseph Brant Hospital and one o f the two people I spoke to in the com munity relations department of the regional government, I do suggest you stop blaming M ike Harris for doing his job and start doing yours," wrote Millar. He com pared doctors, who reach their salary intake and w o n 't see m ore patients, to baseball players, who hit 300 homeruns then refuse to play. M illar said he found one doctor, who was taking patients, but said the voice message indicated he should write out a letter about what he expected in a family physician and await a response in two weeks. "I'm not writing a resume for a fami ly doctor. I'm hiring them, they're not hiring me," said Millar. "Mr. M illar was extremely frustrated. I acted like a sounding board more than anything," said Caster who said she advised M illar to write to the local media and politicians to raise awareness o f the issue. Although M illar's was the first call Caster has received on this issue, and while it doesn't fall under the jurisdiction o f local government, the councillor said she's heard o f concerns about a shortage o f doctors. Peter C. McCusker*0afcW//e Beaver Letter carrier D oug T\irner has been d elivering m ail in the sam e east O akville neighbourhood for 14 years but has lost the route to an oth er carrier due to C anada Post regulations for route-bidding. O n Sunday a group o f his cu s tom ers turned out to form ally say goodbye to him. A teary goodbye to letter carrier N e ig h b o u r s tu r n e d o u t in d r o v e s to w is h D o u g T u r n e r w e ll a fte r p o s ta l u n io n p o lic y s a w h im lo s e h is r o u te o f 1 4 y e a r s "The doctors who see this as a dollars and cents issue should remember the sound of a new born baby; the senior who literally has one friend, you; the person who suffers from a dis abling problem to whom you give relief." tors at the By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Popular east Oakville letter carrier Doug Turner has lost his route, but residents in the area made it clear on Sunday that he'll always occupy a fond place in their hearts. A party held at the home o f Lise and Robert Struthers attracted more than 120 adult well-wishers - not to mention a host of children and even dogs - to send Turner off to his new route in style. "By golly, what a turnout!" said Duncan Road resident Chris Wallace, who is spearheading the drive to retain the neighbourhood's favourite mailman. "It was amazing, really something else." There was a 20-foot banner out front o f the Struthers' home, food, testimonials and a thank-you speech by Turner that struck a variety o f emotions. "He had everyone laughing and crying," said Lise Struthers. "It was lovely." Turner has been a popular fixture along his route for the past 14 years by going above and beyond his duties to visit the eld erly, wear Hallowe'en costumes and know homeowners by their first names. Turner always made time to wave, say hello and chat with seniors, some o f whom look forward to his visit as the highlight o f their day and no wonder - he's taken them shopping and par ticipated in their birthday celebrations. Residents also receive Valentine's candies, Easter eggs and even Christmas cards. Turner, a single dad, went so far as to drive an elderly man to see his ailing wife in hospital and after she died, he attended her funeral. One gendeman returned the goodwill by having hot soup or coffee waiting for T urner during inclem ent weather and storms. A s part o f a Canada Post restructuring, however, some routes becam e open to bids by letter carriers based on seniority and T urner w as bumped. On Friday, during the last day on his old route, Turner was am azed to see yellow ribbons tied to trees and houses in his honour. He also found cards and letters o f thanks waiting for him in countless m ailboxes and on Sunday there was more o f the same. A random sampling o f these m essages o f affection includ ed lines like, "D oug cares about people and he also knows how to care" ; "D oug is very special to all o f us" ; I use him as an exam ple to my kids o f how one can m ake a jo b very spe cial" ; "Last Friday I saw him raking a neighbour's leaves after he finished work. This neighbour is going through som e thing very difficult right now and I know that no one asked Doug to rake her leaves." With this kind o f mutual loyalty and respect at stake, it's no w onder that the residents haven't given up the fight to retain Turner. In recent months, hom eowners have written let ters to C anada Post explaining the situation but on M onday they finally received a reply explaining the union-related rea sons for the change. A pparently during the initial bidding process for the routes, Turner w as successful in keeping his. D uring a subse quent re-bidding, he lost out to another mail carrier. , "A t this point it's extrem ely disappointing but w e're still trying very hard," says Wallace. The Estate o f the Departed Mr. Ronald Harvey Thompson & Retiring Mrs. Francis Pearl Thompson ESTATE AUCTION Sunday. November 25, 2001 at 1:30pm Building On Excellence at TFS: CHASE FREIGHT INTERNATIONAL WAREHOUSE 7384 Tranm ere Drive, Mississauga, O ntario Directions only. Call 905-612-8179 PREVIEW 1 HOUR BEFORE AUCTION HWY 401 to Dixie North to Drew East, left on Tranmere to Warehouse A Lifetime Collection of Fine Furniture, Art, Early Radio's Sculptures, Lightings, Decorative Collectables, HGTV Big Screen & Direct TV Satellite System, Accessories, Supplemented w ith Extensive Home Furnishings, Estate & Modern Jewelry over 400 lots in total. FREE BIDDERS D R AW ! A matching pair of stained glass Tiffany style lamps. Sale supplemented with: SHIPMENT FOR AN ORIENTAL RUG STORE, C0NFISGATED FOR NON-PAYMENT: Freight Container Inbound from Europe: MANY DIFFERENT SIZES 180 PIECES INDIVIDUALLY LOTTED THIS SALE ALSO INCLUDES: A 1988 JEEP CHEROKEE. Leather Int., auto, only 170kms, cert. & e-test. No Reserve. A U C T IO N E E R S N O T E : A n e x tr e m e ly la r g e s a le a r r iv e e a r ly lim it e d s e a tin g ! TE R M S : M /C . V IS A , C A S H (S u n d a y , N o v e m b e r 2 5 . 2 0 0 1 . P r e v ie w a t 1 2 :3 0 p m ) A Bilingual Education With An International Perspective Bilingual Coeducational International Baccalaureate Extended Childcare Saturday, Nov 2 4 9 a .m .-5 p.m . Sunday, Nov 2 5 1 0 a*m«-5 p.m . SH O W RO O M CLOSES FRI., NOV. 2 3 AT N O O N FOR SALE PREPARTIONS Ten percent txjyen premum oi effect Sate sub(ect to adtftiore and deletions therefore some reserve may appty as announced by the auctioneer Attention Dealer proper tax ettm pton certificate required on site to be tax e«empt Conducted by Show Master Productions Estate Auctioneers & Liquidators LTD Tel (416) 368-6100 All items in showroom sale priced! Low, low prices on outdoor fixtures, table lamps & more. AC1789EB 29" d. x 27" h. 9-Lite Chandelier $199.99 FABRIC I C LEA R A N C E SALE! I 2 DAYS ONLY Thursday, Nov. 22 & Friday, Nov. 23 · Printed Sheers ·Tapestries · Decorator Fabrics · Lining · Velvets · Hardware · Upholstery · Tassels and Trim · Cotton Prints · Pillow Forms · Samples & Ends · Wallpaper O pen H ouse P re s e n ta tio n s Toronto Campus Pre-Kindergarten (age 3)-Grade 2: Nov. 22,7:30 pm Grades 3-7: Nov. 21,9:30 im Grade 9-OAC: Nov. 19-23, by appt. Mississauga Campus Dec. 6,9:30 am Major Redevelopment Project: Athletic Centre Dining Hall Dance Studio E n tra n c e E x a m in a tio n s (application required prior to examination date) Grades 1&2: Sat. Jan. 12,2002 Grades 3&4: from Jan. 7,2002, by appt. Grades 5-OAC: Sat. Jan. 26,2002 Intensive language programs are offered up to Grade 7 for students with no previous exposure to French. A d m is s io n s AC1276NG 6+2-Lite Chandelier $579.99 AC3011NG 22" d. Pendant $299.99 WAREHOUSE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC SALE HOURS Thurs. & Fri. 10-8, Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-4 AC5911NG Wall Scone $74.99 (416)484-6533 ext. 247 Toronto Campus (Age 3-0AC): 296 Lawrence Ave. East (at Bayview) Mississauga Campus (Age JCrade 7): 1293 Meredith Ave. (Dixie / QEW) Toronto F re n ch School w w w .tf s .o n .c a L IG H T IN G SH O W R O O M 4 4 5 INGLEHART ST. Oakville 9 0 4 -8 4 5 -2 4 6 1 Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Sat. 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., SUN., NOV 25.10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. S 38 0 S o uth Service Rd. (Betw een Appleby & Burloak) B u rlin g to n _________ (9 0 S ) 6 3 I-6 S IS __________ S A F E G U A R D IN G O N T A R IO 'S E L E C T R IC IT Y F U T U R E Q u e stio n s a b o u t O n ta rio 's n e w e le c tr ic it y m a rk e t? C A L L 1 - 8 8 8 - 6 6 8 - 4 6 3 6 To r e c e iv e y o u r f r e e in f o r m a t io n b r o c h u r e w h ic h e x p la in s : · w h y · H o w o u r e le c tr ic ity s y s te m th e n e w s y s te m w ill m e a n is c h a n g in g fo r c o n s u m e r s w ill w o r k · W h a t c o m p e titio n o r v is it o u r w e b s i t e a t w w w .e s t .g o v .o n .c a O n t a r io