USINESS IS booming. Visits are up lo nearly 61,000 annually from 53,000 two years ago, a substantial 14% in- crease, By lan Noble News Reporter Any company would be happy to ‘report such numbers, but the organi- _, zation at hand is not a tourist attrac- tion ‘or computer store, The Lions Gate Hospital emergency depart- . Ment is-drawing the traffic. ‘While most businesses could . expect better business io mean more revenue, the hospital's emergency department budget reiaained frozen at $2.2 million for the past three _years. < Like many Canadian emergency departments, “We're trying to do more work with the same money,”: ‘said “emergency head nurse. Leighanne MacKenzie. Not . surprisingly, emergency department crowding has increased. For the 61. staff members and nine emergency physicians, © that means a more hectic.work environment. For patients visiting emergency. who are not ~ seriously ill, waiting iimes are generally longer. ~ With the demands of more patients, emer- - ‘gency physician and medical: director, of emer- » gency Dr. Michael B, O'Neil said his gut feeling “is, that the complexity of ‘problems has ‘also - increased. He ‘said many of. the less seriously , ‘injured or-ill.are now more: likely to visit their” - family doctor or walk-in clinics, leaving hospital to cope’with more severe problems. ‘. "Now that it’s‘summer, emergency room visits are expected to increase. ‘When the sun comes‘out, they come pouring through the door,” O'Neil said. _- Lions’ Gate-emergency staff and doctors real-’ ize little help to resolve the situation will come: "NEWS photo Torry Peters : ROLLEH-BLADING & ENTHUSIAST Steve Corcoran straps - : en protective gear before pursuing the sport. ae from cash-strapped governments. The hospital has grabbed the bull by the horns. Alf money generated by-Lions Gate Hospital . 9-1-1 Relays in the past two years, and the pro- ceeds from an upcoming race in September, have been earmarked for renovations to the emergency department. The facility has not changed physi- cally, for about 15 years. : : After renovations are complete, MacKenzie : said first-aid patients will. be attended to more : ‘efficiently, nurses will be better deployed, opera- tions money will be saved, and physician cover: | age will increase. ..’. - But curing the 10-.to 12-week period of the $180,000. renovation work scheduled to begin’ Wednesday, the area will be noisy and cluttered. . Said MacKenzie: “We want patients to bear: with us as we go through renovations.” ‘ i “To reduce the strain on the emergency depart: NEWS Photo Mike Wakefield ment, MacKenzie suggested people who have questions about where they should go for medical help should consult their family doctor. MacKenzie hopes patients will no longer have complete. , 3 “It's:4n issue of the comfort and privacy of patients,” said O'Neil. Currently, patients admitted for investigation: - or treatment sometimes can’t get rooms. So they Stay in’ beds in the hal}way,. but usually for no more than a day. “The critically ill people get dealt with,” said "O'Neil. At. Lions Gate's emergency department, 5% of those admitted have life-threatening injuries or illnesses, 40% of cases are urgent but not life- threatening, and 55%" ‘of patients have” minor medical problems or injuries. ON THE STREET OF HARD KNOCKS ashed- keep “up bladers © docs hopping UNPROTECTED ROLLER bladers are hospital emergency department - physician Michael O'Neil! s S pet peeve. . By lan Noble a News Reporter ! On one shift at the Lions Gate Hospital emergency department, O'Neil saw eight _ people with fractured wrists from a combination of roller blading. snowboarding : and Skateboarding mishaps. a | One of those patients had two fractured wrists, “MAIL of their injuries could have been prevented if they had on wrist guards,” said , ‘the frustrated physician. “Roller blading is a high-i -injury sport,”.O’Neil added.' * Steve Corcoran, :the manager of North Shore Ski and Sailboard, said roller : _ bladers need helmets, and pads on their wrists, elbows and knees. Helmets designed for roller blading reach further down the back of the head than’ bike helmets because a lot of wobbly skaters fall backward, said Corcoran. —- ,/ _A bike helmet is better than nothing for a roller blader but not as good asa roller blading helmet, he noted. concrete. Elbow pads include padding and a plastic cup to allow the joint to slide on. the Wrist guards, said Corcoran, accomplish two things. - The plastic on the palm allows it to slide and prevents the skin of the hand from being peeled off. On the back of the wrist g guard a plastic piece covers the wrist joint and prevents the hand from extending back too far, said ‘Corcoran. Heo ” that one. Knee pads function similar to elbow pads but have a larger Plastic plate. : Corcoran said he wears the equipment. ; “Especially the brain bucket itself i is imperative. You only § pet one go around with © Py Helmets go for $50 to $100 and the wrist pads can be had for a total of $50. NURSE DOUG Bell attends to Doug Harvey’ Ss hand injury i in the Lions Gate Hospital emergency © department, which will soon get a facelift. The department will remain open during renovations. _ to wait in beds in the halls after renovations are | A TWO MEMBERS of the North Shore’s Squamish Nation were fined $200 - euch on Wednesday for hunting a bull moose on aboriginal land belonging to the» Osoyoos Indian Band near Oliver. By Anna Marie D'Angelo News Reporter Larry Nahanee, 36, and his“ brother, Wes Nahanee, 28, were charged under the provincial Wildlife Act in connection with killing the moose out of season on Oct. 4, 1993, near Wapiti Creek. “They had no right to ‘hun moose in the land in question,” said Crown lawyer Ron Kockx, . The moose,’ he said,. was” killed on Osoyoos Band territo- . ry out of season without a huint- ing permit. It was found in the Nahanees’ trunk by a ‘conserva- tion officer. 2, } The’ fine :for ie offence | ranges from, $200: to $10,000 with the “usual range” of fine. imposed » ‘bya judge. being $1,000 to :$1.500;' said: Kockx and defence lawyer Chiarles : Stein.!: Kockx noted that exceptions to the usual’ fines had been made for native hunters. J Stein’ said the status natives” ‘believed they had an aboriginal * right to hurt, without a licence, Not, only: ‘on Squamish Band land, but in all traditional native | hunting'areas all_year through-. out the province. ; “The hunting was for suste- nance,” said Stein. “They. had: an honestly held, but mistaken - belief.” -.Stein said considerable sav-" ings -had been made with ‘the -. two: ’ men pleading - guilty ; instead of continuing. the case “with aboriginal issues coming into play. Stein , said‘ the Osoyoos’ ' Band had used the moose meat”’ “and had not viewed the incident -AS a serious matter. . : Stein later: told the News that ‘case Jaw has. dealt: with: natives hunting in their band’s traditional , territories.’ He. said -f- : the Nahanees had, in the moose case, not wanted to test the lim-.. its of their aboriginal rights." j Judge Jerome Paradis fined each man *“‘the’..: minimum” allowed by Parliament.” Paradis - said the fines. were. set up to ‘deter others. He said that con- sistency in: sentencing was’ needed, but the details of. the: 4 cise supported { minimum fine, *: The case’ had been trans- ‘ferred to North Vancouver from‘ . Penticton Provincial court.