The Hanover and District Hospital is trying to expand its outpatient clinics.
Vice President of Patient Care Esther Millar tells Bayshore Broadcasting News they are seeking out more specialists to offer clinics within the Hospital.
Millar notes the Hospital already offers a number of clinics — including pediatrics, orthopaedic, urology, endocrinology and ear nose and throat clinics.
She adds clinic usage is on the rise, with some clinics experiencing dramatic increases — including pediatrics and orthopaedics.
Millar adds the hospital has opened its doors to agencies that provide their own programs — including the Community Care Access Centre, the VON, a Diabetes clinic and a podiatrist clinic.
Millar calls this the wave of the future for rural medicine — rather than send patients to the specialists, the Hospital is bringing the specialists to the patients.
Millar says traveling to London or Toronto for a medical appointment is both time consuming and costly.
She says many people lose a day of work, and the stress of travel arrangements can be overwhelming for older patients.
As a result Millar says some patients choose not to visit their specialist as often as they should.
Millar feels offering more clinics locally is better and more convenient.
