Kenora city council has been asked to lobby for funding for a local eye doctor.
Dr. Frank Stockl currently treats older patients with macular degeneration, which is a serious eye condition that can cause vision loss and blindness.
The resolution says the Ministry of Health doesn’t provide specialist funding for his services because it’s not located in a hospital setting.
“Since 2017, Dr. Frank Stockl, a specialist from Winnipeg, has travelled regularly to Kenora to administer these sight-saving injections to between 120 and 150 seniors from across Northwestern Ontario, including patients from Kenora, Sioux Lookout, Dryden, and Fort Frances.”
“Dr. Stockl has been subsidizing a portion of these visits out of his own pocket due to inadequate provincial funding and has now advised that he can no longer continue providing this service in Kenora under the current funding model.”
“The Ministry of Health has indicated that Dr. Stockl could be eligible for specialist funding if he practiced out of the Lake of the Woods District Hospital, but the hospital has advised that there is no available space to accommodate this service.”
The resolution goes on to say, “continuing to allow Dr. Stockl to practice at the Kenora Optometry Clinic with appropriate specialist funding would maintain accessible local care, reduce patient hardship, and avoid unnecessary provincial costs related to travel grants,
accommodations, and administrative processing.
The resolution has been sent to MPP Greg Rickford, the Honourable Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA), and the All Nations Health Partners.
