Pay Attention to MSK Issues In Primary Care, Says Dr. Cooke

There was a story and photo on the front page of the Frontenac News in the May 28 edition, about a provincial investment that will hopefully result in Frontenac County residents connecting to primary care in large numbers.

Among the people in the photo were politicians and healthcare administrators, and Doctor Kim Morrison, the Executive Lead of the Kingston Frontenac Ontario Health Team. And, at the far left of the photo, there was Dr. Derek Cooke, but as he points out in his letter on page 3, there was no explanation about his role in the announcement.

Dr. Cooke is a retired orthopedic surgeon who lives with his wife on Bobs Lake. He is also interested in healthcare services, and has been in contact with the staff at the Sharbot Lake Family Health Team about their services. He was also, until recently, a local resident not connected to primary care.

In an interview with the News this week, he talked about how important it is to develop a true team- based approach to care, and the example he uses is something he knows something about, given his professional background.

One third of all patient needs relate to “MSK” he said, then explaining that MSK stands for muscular skeletal issues.

“It varies from practice to practice of course, but what people need is more access to Occupational Therapy (OT) Services, and Physiotherapy services. There is an OT working out of Sharbot Lake Family Health Team on a half time basis. “That is hugely valuable” said Cooke “but there needs to be more than that, and access to physiotherapy. The savings that would be realised in hospital care would cover this extra cost,” he said.

“The same thing applies to social services,” he said.

The funding for primary care that was announced at that photo-op in Sharbot Lake, $3.62million, is still being determined. When contacted, both Dr. Sabra Gibbens of the Verona Medical Clinic, and Dr. Dietrich of the Sydenham Clinic and lead physician for the Rural Kingston Family Health Organization, both said that the funding is good news for their at capacity clinics, but they are waiting to find out how it is going to be applied, and will be able to talk then