PAGE 14, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1978, WHITBY FREE PRESS Hospital reports good response to public survey John Kunetsky,administra- tor of the Dr. J. 0. Ruddy General Hospital is very pleased with the response to a recent mail-out survey to -gauge public reaction to the hospital and its services. 0f 9,257 forms mailed out, 2,838 were returned, representing a 30.7 per cent rate of return. This is excel- lent, as the average response to such surveys is six per cent, says Mr. Kunetsky. - Since most householders surveyed were family people, Mr. Kunetsky figures the survey results represent 9,110' Whitby residents, or 31.6 per cent of the town's population. More than 550 respon- dents to the survey com- Its THE mented on the hospital's services and there was a mix- ture of positive and negative comment, said Mr. Kunetsky. A lot of people were a- fraid that the survey meant there was a threat that the hospital would be closed, but this is not the case, he said. Many asked that all the beds be made available, but the 1 00-bed hospital cannot change from its 65-bed restric- tion without permission of the Ontario Ministry of Health, said Mr. Kunetsky. He reported that more than 100 people wanted the ma- ternity ward opened, but a- gain, this requires a policy change .by the Ministry of Health, which presently is pots END Of Our TOP TO BOTTOM Sale 2aiMvt ê 10% -20% LAST 3 DAYS- v 1~ Your Welcome to Come in 1 and Browse 10% Off Ail Sales Over $5.00 with Baby Bonus Chaque On Regular Priced Merchandise ~.*. consol.idating such specialized services because they are too expensive to operate in all hospitals. "We need a bigger popula- tion to support a maternity ward," he said. Some people complained that they had to wait too ,long for tests and were not told enough about them, and there was too much transfer- ring of patients from room to room. Said Mr. Kunetsky. Some said that older people are dischariged too soon, he added. One bone of contention revealed by ·the survey re- garded long waits at 'the emergency department. Many thought there should be a Ontario Hydro AIR CONDITIONING PICKERING GENERATING STATION "B" Ontario Hydro invited contrac- tors to subtnit tenders for the supply and installation of air conditioning systems of approximately 220 ton total capacity, at the Pickering Generating Station "B", Io- cated on Brock Road South in the Town of Pickering. Work is to commence August 1, 1978 and be completed by January 15, 1980. Tenders will be received up to 2 PM local tinie, Thursday, March 2, 1978; immediately thereafter,they will be opened publicly in Ontario Hydro's Auditorium (Mezzanine Floor), 700 University Avenue, Toronto. Tendering documents may be obtained . From: 700 University Ave., Toronto, 13th Floor Reception Desk (or for inspection only) Write: Ontagio Hydro Attn: J.A.Tomlinson H13 E6 700 University Ave., Toronto,Ontario MSG 1X6 Phone: (416) 592-3571 A deposit of $50, payable to Ontariq Hydro, is required for a set of tendering documents. The deposit will be refunded if the documents are returned in good condition within 15 days of the tender validity expiration date. Tendering documents may also be inspected at the offices of the Toronto, Oshawa and Hamilton Construction As- sociations. Each tender must be accom- panied by a certified cheque and the successful tenderer may be required to furnish a performance bond. Further for you details are contained in the 5 - 668- tendering documents. The lowest or any tender will not necessarity be accepted. place doctor, a lab technician and an X ray technician on duty 24 hours a day, said Mr. Kunetsky. At present there is a doctor on call at the emer- gency department, but to have one on duty 24 hours a day would be very costly and would not make practical use of the doctor's time be- cause the hospital does not have a busy emergency de- partment, says Mr. Kunetsky. Ontario government studies in. 1975 reveal that one per cent of emergency visits are life-threatening, five per cent are acute or serious, and 94 per cent are not serious, he said. "Emergency service is a stand-by service, and we can't always staff for the maximum usage of the department, he said. There were some com- plaints about psychiatric patients in the hospital said Mr. Kunetsky, but not all the patients* in this category are £rom the psychiatric hospital he said. A lot of people did not like smoking in the hospital, he said, but many may not have been aware of the "no smoking" policy introduced in 1977. A lot of people through the hospital was too far from the centre of the community and there should be a bus service to it, said Mr. Kunetsky. Others wanted improved specialty units or new units opened in the hospital, and these requests and the other matters commented upon will be studied by the Board of Governors and medical staff of the hospital, said Mr. Kunetsky. Results of the survey showed that of those who responded, six per cent were aged 65 or over,11.2 per cen:t were 51 to 65, 18.9 per cent were 36 to 50, 22.9 per cent were 22 to 35, 21.6 per cent were 11 to 21,andl19.3,per cent were aged 10 and under. Mr. Kunetsky noted that 3.5 per cent of those who responded had lived in Whitby five years or less and 37 per cent had lived here more than 15 years, Fifteen per cent had lived in Whitby six to 10 years, and 14 per cent had lived here 11 to 15 years. The survey divided the town into eastern (corridor area),western, (west of Annes Street), central, (old town south of Dundas), and north- ern sections (north of Ross- land Road). Fifty four per cent of the respondents said they had a family member hospitalized at the Dr. Ruddy Hospital, 76 per cent had used the emergency pr out-patient .service,73 per cent had visited a patient at the hospital, 13 per cent had used the hospitals community services, 95 per cent knew the quick- est way to get to the hospital, 30 per cent had consulted their doctor regarding use of the hospital, and 65 per cent said they were fully aware of the hospital's services and facilities. Forty-three per cent said they would go the the hospi- tal for immdiate help and 46 per cent said they would go first to their own doctor. Seven per cent said they would go to the Oshawa General Hospital and one per cent to the Ajax-Pickering hospital. Thirty-four percent rated the Dr. Ruddy Hospital as excellent, 49 per cent rated it as good, 13 per cent as fair, and four per cent as poor. New signais Kick The Habitl Attend 5-day Plan To Stop Smoking Henry St. High School, Whitby Feb. 7-11 7:30 p.m. Registration Fee $5° For Fur thern y nformnTon Ph t 723 2401 How tomorrow Make sure'now that you'll have adequate income to enjoy your mreerent years. The little you save now on a regular basis will mean a Jot when your pay day years are over. Put your savings into a Victoria and Grey Registered Retirement Savings Plan. Serving more and more people since 1889 Wand GREY TRUST COMPANY KEITH LAWES AManager 308 Dndas St. W.. Whithy 6689324 planned Steps will be taken this year to continue a traffic study report for downtown Whitby and make traffic sig- nal improvements in 1978 and 1979. Council has asked that a firm of transportation en- gineering consultants be en- gaged to-evaluate the central business district to handle existing and future traffic volumes The town will make a pro- vision of a total of $117,700 in its 1978 and 1979 budgets for the improvement of the existing traffic signals and the installation of new ones. The recommendations are the result of a technical co- ordinating committee study done last year on traffic movement from Garrard Road to the Ajax-Whitby town line, and Brock Street from Victoria Street to Rossland Road. It is estimated that the Ministry of Transportation and Communicatidns will supply $105,300 of the cost and the Town of Whitby $12,400. Proposed improvements for 1978 include: improve- ment of the existing traffic signals at Dundas Street and Garrard Road, installation of new traffic signals at Dundas and Blair-Garden Street, re- moval of existing school cros- sing signals on Dundas Street west of Garden Street, and installation of new traffic signals at Brock and Dunlop Streets. Proposed improvements for 1979 are improvement of the existing traffic signals at Brock and Mary Streets and Brock and Dundas Streets, interconnection of traffic signals on Brock Street from Dunlop to Mary, and installation of new traf- i....v at Brock and IMIdrens Wear & FIe Linens