John Campbell says visiting ambulatory care allowed him to receive needed treatment while avoiding a hospital stay. “We can drop in and we don’t have to be here all day,” said Campbell in an interview this year. The Linkletter man (Pictured with nursing grad Erica Jones) had been receiving IV medications periodically. These treatments are one of the services available at the ambulatory care unit at Prince County Hospital in Summerside. Ambulatory care is care delivered on an outpatient basis. The department was the first of its kind on P.E.I. The need is increasing. Trends for day procedures have increased to the point where much equipment purchased for the hospital over the past three years has been dedicated to this unit — over $530,000 worth since 2006. This year, the need for this unit will reach a record high of $241,300.
The department, the first visible after entering the lobby, is critical to the well being of our communities. Anyone needing an endoscopy procedure, chemotherapy or IV medication will access ambulatory care. Many health problems do not require hospital admission and can be managed on an ambulatory basis, including blood tests, endoscopy, IV infusions, electrocardiograms, vacuum assisted closures and even biopsy procedures. Cheryl Gallant has visited the unit to receive vacuum assisted closure wound therapy. The equipment helps increase the speed of healing using negative pressure (suction vacuum) to remove excess fluid and bacteria and increase blood and oxygen to the wound. The equipment has various uses, but in Gallant’s case it was a window to access the poison that had invaded her
system. The vacuum assisted closure wound therapy equipment made Gallant a great deal more comfortable in a time of immense pain. “It comforted me enough that I was able to rest easier.” At one time, such services would mean visiting the emergency department and the potential of waiting. Ambulatory care provides a place where people can come to have care provided at specified times. Planned care means extensive waits are less likely for treatment – whether dressing changes or IV infusions. Last year alone, the unit was responsible for the care of over 12,000 patients.
