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The Canadien Champion, Tuesday, November 17, 1998 -3 Milton's hospital gets a thumbs up in new poll By KAREN SMITH The Champion Miltonians give their community hospital high marks when it comes to quality of care, according to results of a recent survey. The hospital scored an average eight out of 10 when pollsters hired by Halton Healthcare Services asked 200 local residents to rate the medical treatment they've received at Milton District Hospital. The telephone survey performed by the Toronto- based public opinion research firm Pollara in July and August also found that the hospital is Miltonians' first choice due to the convenience. Other reasons included familiarity (25 per cent), good service (22 per cent), having a family doctor work there (15 per cent), friendly staff (8 per cent) and a good reputation (7 percent). More than a third of respondents said they have travelled outside of Milton for health care services. Those who travelled most frequently said they did so because a specialist was located elsewhere (37 per cent), the services weren't available at Milton hospital (11 per cent) and that their family doctor didn't work locally (11 percent). A few said they sought treatment out of town due to personal choice (8 per cent), because they liked a hos- pital outside of Milton better (8 per cent), because they disliked the staff at the local hospital (5 per cent) and because the doctors outside of Milton were better (1 percent). The most highly regarded groups within the hospital are the volunteers, followed by the nursing staff and physicians, according to the survey. About six out of 10 respondents were aware of the amalgamation of Milton hospital and Oakville- Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. About 13 per cent of residents commented that they don't want services cut, 10 per cent said they're against the amalgamation and 9 per cent said they want both hospitals to stay open because the travelling distance between the two sites is too great. Another 7 per cent had a positive reaction to the amalgamation. Two-thirds of respondents said they support increased government funding for hospitals while 27 per cent said they believe funding should remain at a constant level. Just 2 per cent said it should be decreased. Longer waits But despite the high level of support for increased govemment funding for hospitals, just 9 per cent of area residents said they have been personally affected by changes to local hospital services or programs as a result of restructuring. The most frequently mentioned ways that people have felt the difference included receiving less atten- tion from staff (39 per cent) and having to wait a long time for services (28 per cent). More than six out of 10 respondents said they have recently read or heard information about Milton hospi- tal. About 90 per cent said local newspapers were the source of the information while 7 per cent said they heard news from family or friends. The most frequently read community newspaper in Milton is the Canadian Champion, with 86 per cent of respondents mentioning it as the community newspa- per they read regularly. Lighter recall As a public safety measure, Canadian Tire has issued a recall of mini gas lighters with the product number 99-8001. A design flaw may exist causing butane to continue flowing after the flame has been extinguished. Full refunds of the purchase price will be given\.