By François Biber

Sask. cancer patient probably won’t take an ambulance again

Jun 4, 2015 | 7:15 AM

Unable to work as he battles cancer, a Saskatchewan man finds himself behind the eight-ball trying to cover the cost of expensive ambulance bills.

On March 19, Thomas Winacott, 64, from Lashburn, Sask., was visiting his sister in Swift Current when his pancreatic cancer took a turn for the worse and he required an ambulance transfer from the Cypress Regional Hospital in Swift Current to St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon. That trip ended up costing Winacott more than he could afford.

“I just about flipped because it was $1,553.20 for the trip and an hour waiting time, but I don’t remember waiting an hour,” Winacott said.

The invoice was broken down into three parts; the basic fee of $245, plus $2.30 for every kilometre (km) travelled.

In Winacott’s case they charged him for 534 km, including the drive back to Swift Current from Saskatoon; and $80 per hour waiting fee.

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“My sister paid it, and I don’t like relying on someone else to pay for that, especially family. I’m the youngest, my sister is 78,” Winacott said.

Back home in Lashburn, Winacott needed another ambulance transfer on May 14, from Maidstone to the Battleford Union Hospital, but Winacott refused to take an ambulance, knowing what the cost could be. So he opted to hitch a ride with a family member with an intravenous needle stuck in his arm.

When he got to Battleford, he waited eight hours before he saw a doctor. If he would have opted for the ambulance, the cost alone for waiting would have added up to almost $700, plus the $245 basic fee and the kilometres travelled.

Winacott’s medication costs per month are $150 alone. Making less than a $30,000 salary, he has been forced to rely on his sister who has helped pay his medical bills.

Living on $318 a month, he’s calling the province to take action, so others in the province avoid these surprise bills.

news@panow.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow

by François Biber

Sask. cancer patient probably won’t take an ambulance again

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