RENFREW COUNTY (Renfrew) — In an effort to improve patient care, Renfrew Victoria Hospital (RVH) will be extending the hours that Contrast CT studies are available to both emergency patients and in-patients.
“Commencing January 27, we will provide all but a few very specialized procedures from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily, seven days per week,” notes Lisa Wherry, RVH Manager, Medical Imaging. “These services had not been offered on weekends or in the evenings previously, so this is a great win for the community. It will help reduce the number of patients who have to wait until a weekday for follow-up, and help prevent, in some cases, transferring patients to another hospital for imaging and care.”
RVH now has two general surgeons who are providing extended emergency surgical procedures, further expediting patient care, and the expansion in CT services will help to support a newly introduced surgical on-call program by assisting with emergent diagnoses.
“The physicians at RVH are very pleased to have expanded hours of CT services available to our patients who require urgent medical imaging. This will support our Emergency Department and Surgical Program to allow us to provide the best care possible. It will prevent unnecessary transfers of patients to other hospitals for imaging, and allow us to provide care closer to home,” stated Dr. Steve Radke, RVH Chief of Staff.
The trial hours represent a large undertaking and change to Medical Imaging staff’s usual workflows and without their support and commitment to patient care, the expanded hours would not be possible. “These extra hours would not be possible without the dedication of our specialized CT technologist team,” acknowledges Wherry.
The radiology team at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH), which is integral in interpreting RVH’s exams, is also in support of the move to expanded hours. “The radiologists are most excited to expand the service to our emergency patients to expedite their care and keep their treatment nearer home,” said Dr. Geoffrey Doherty, Radiologist, TOH.
“The implementation of this trial has been a team effort and I sincerely thank the RVH board, administration, surgeons, physicians, radiologists, and staff for developing an initiative that will make the use of the infrastructure the hospital has invested in to improve patient care,” said Randy Penney, RVH CEO.
Over the next three months, RVH will be tracking patient outcomes and resource requirements to best determine the final model for the services.
