Seniors left in a pickle after Winnipeg eye doctor ceases trips to Kenora

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Advocates for folks with bad vision in town say they have a whole new kind of sight for sore eyes.

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Since 2017, Dr. Frank Stockl, a Winnipeg-based ophthalmologist has been travelling to the Kenora Optometry Clinic to run clinics where he would provide a specialized service – injections for macular degeneration – for approximately 150 patients from across northwestern Ontario.

In more recent times, however, Dr. Stockl has ceased his trips to Kenora, which according to the Kenora Age Friendly Committee, and by extension, the City of Kenora, is because he can no longer afford to subsidize his trips in response to “inadequate provincial funding.”

Ontario’s Ministry of Health has indicated that he could be eligible for more funding if he practised out of the Lake of the Woods District Hospital (LWDH), but as it stands, officials from the hospital have confirmed there is no space available at the building that suits his needs.

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The Miner and News has reached out to Dr. Stockl himself to hear about this issue directly, but his office has not returned our newsroom’s request for comment.

Several affected family members have nonetheless reached out to the Miner about the situation, including Erin du Bois – who asked to be identified with a pseudonym – whose elderly mother is both visually and mobility challenged.

According to du Bois, since Dr. Stockl’s clinic shut down in July, she had no choice but to fly over 2,000 k.m. from British Columbia to drive her mother to Winnipeg, and she will be unable to do the same in a month’s time when her mom will need another shot.

As far as she is concerned, the closure of the clinic represents an “abysmal marginalization of the health of Kenora’s seniors” that has left them, as well as others from across the region “scrambling to try to find safe transportation.”

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What’s more, du Bois elaborated, is that with winter coming, trips to Winnipeg will soon get even more hazardous for those who need the shots, and “they will go blind without these injections” if they cannot make the drive.

Della Crowe, another local resident, confirmed with our newsroom that her husband now has no choice but to travel to Winnipeg for the injections, and that “he can drive there, but not back afterwards.”

“Unfortunately he missed an appointment because he was not able to travel (due to) being unwell with cancer, so . . . his sight has deteriorated because of the missed injection,” Crowe told the Miner.

At their Sept. 16 meeting, Kenora’s City Council formally advocated for Ontario’s Ministry of Health to come up with some kind of funding solution, whether it would mean Stockl’s return to the local optometry clinic or a brand new kind of setup at the hospital.

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In making their plight, Council called on Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford “to advocate on behalf of seniors in Kenora and Northwestern Ontario by requesting that . . . Dr. Stockl . . . receive the same specialist funding provided to all visiting out-of-province specialists.”

In a follow up with the Miner, Rickford confirmed that his office has been working with the Ministry of Health “over the past several weeks to try to find a resolution to this.”

“Obviously we value Dr. Stockl’s services here… there isn’t enough space or human resource support for the kind of procedure he performs at the hospital, so we’re trying very hard to ensure that service continues,” Rickford said.

According to the Kenora-Rainy River MPP, he and his colleagues are also looking at how ophthalmology is practised in Thunder Bay, “to see if they might be available to come into other locations.”

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“This isn’t just about Kenora,” he continued, “people from Fort Frances and Dryden have to drive here, and anybody who’s been following the work that I’ve been doing here – we’re trying to bring care home, and I’m hopeful we’ll be able to find a resolution for this in the not so distant future.”

Rickford also affirmed that Dr. Stockl “is remunerated for his services, including expenses,” but could not speak specifically as to how much he was paid for his clinics by the Ministry of Health.

“We’re taking a good look at what that looks like and how we can ensure that his services, which we very much value and appreciate, can continue to be offered,” he concluded.

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