Manitoba, Saskatchewan work out deal that gives dialysis patient treatment close to home
CBC
Maureen McBratney can't wait to embrace her five-year-old grandson.
Last year McBratney nearly died from extreme kidney failure, but doctors and nurses were able to save her life. Now she needs life-saving dialysis treatment every other day.
McBratney's home is in Denare, Sask., about 20 minutes away from Flin Flon , Man.
There's a dialysis clinic in Flin Flon, but or the last eight months McBratney has had to stay in Saskatoon — a 600-kilometre drive from her home — to get dialysis, because there was no agreement between provinces in place that would allow her to get treatment in Manitoba.
"We've had really good places to stay and made some really good friends, but nothing is really like being at home," said McBratney, choking while talking about what she has missed not being at home.
"I missed [my grandson's] first day of kindergarten, the first Halloween parade. Just those things that you you don't get to do."
The McBratney family and supporters have been pushing health authorities and MLAs to find a way to make dialysis in Flin Flon a possibility. Now that work has paid off.
The provinces have worked out a deal that gives Saskatchewan residents access to the dialysis unit in Flin Flon. McBratney and her husband, Greg, can finally go home.
In a statement to CBC, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health said the two provinces are working collaboratively with each other to increase access to their respective kidney health and renal programs.
"Through this collaboration, Manitoba Health has agreed to provide access to renal dialysis spots in Flin Flon for two Saskatchewan patients," said a statement emailed to CBC from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health. "It is anticipated this will minimize the burden of travel for these patients and their families, and provide care closer to home."
A spokesperson for Manitoba's Northern Health Region said finding dialysis seats at Flin Flon General Hospital for Saskatchewan patients has been a goal in the past year.
"Expansion needs were recognized after local population, patients, and elected officials in the area of Flin Flon brought this critical patient care initiative forward."
McBratney said it was very emotional to know she and her husband would be able to return home.
"I think we both cried for about 15 or 20 minutes," she said. "Then it was, 'now we have to phone our kids.' We phoned [their daughter] Paige, told her the good news on video call, and she immediately started to cry."
Alberta's election agency announced Monday it has approved a proposed referendum question on the province separating from Canada.
One person has been shot by police after allegedly stabbing two people in Toronto's northwest on Monday, police say.
Prince Edward Island's housing market is becoming more balanced, according to new data.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is presenting a new plan worth more than $35.5 billion to keep First Nations children connected to their communities, culture and families.
The RCMP arrested two men who allegedly used a classified ads website to recruit women to smuggle cannabis out of Canada to Nigeria via the country’s biggest airport.
One person is in a critical condition after an incident in Inukjuak, Que., which led to a shoot-out with police.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has picked business executive Mark Wiseman to serve as Canada's ambassador to the U.S.
A man in his thirties is in serious condition after a “targeted” shooting in Kensington Market early Monday morning, according to Toronto police.
One Labrador man is worried he might not make it home for the holidays after Wabush Airport cancelled multiple flights for several days.
Current and former members of Laurentian University’s staff and faculty unions will receive cheques in the new year after paying into a retiree health benefits plan that the university spent on its operational and capital budgets instead.
Shopping local may be the desire, but affordability might decide where shoppers spend their money this Christmas season.
As classes across New Brunswick pause for the holidays, it’s not yet clear which schools are making a dent in chronic absenteeism — a stubborn post-pandemic trend that mostly afflicts the high school cohort, especially in the Anglophone West school district.
CBC Quebec has launched its Make the Season Kind campaign. It's our annual campaign that focuses on food insecurity, while also celebrating kindness, generosity and community spirit around the province.