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FORT NELSON, B.C. – The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality is purchasing a Holter electrocardiogram machine after receiving a letter from a local doctor looking to reduce travel for Fort Nelson residents.

Dr. Marius Mostert penned a letter to council that was reviewed on March 14th, asking the town to purchase the machine to enhance local service and reduce the expense for out-of-town travel for residents.

Council voted in favour of spending up to $6,000 on the machine, which will be owned by the NRRM and leased the Airportway clinic.

The Holter ECG continuously monitors the heart’s electrical activity for 24 hours while the patient is away from the doctor’s office.

In his letter, Dr. Mostert says the Fort Nelson General hospital used to offer the service, with a three month wait time for results. He says the turnaround time eventually got longer until the service was stopped.

Fort Nelson residents in need of the service then had to make the four hour drive to Fort St. John, where they had to stay for over 24 hours. The patients had to wait up to a year for results, according to Dr. Mostert.

Eventually, Northern Health stopped the service, and a private company, Apex Cardiac Sevice, made it available at no cost to the patient minus travel and stay in Fort St. John.

To reduce the costs for Fort Nelson patients, Dr. Mostert started discussions with Apex about purchasing a machine for Fort Nelson, but it didn’t pan out.

Being a remote municipality in the north, healthcare services have long been a concern in the town. The NRRM and Northern Health have recently discussed the lack of lab services after both lab technologists left last year.

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