Many of our members don't work in an area where there is a large pediatric centre. There are only 16 across the country.
I'll use the example of our president, Andrew Lynk, who is a community pediatrician in Cape Breton. When he first sees a family in this situation, he probably will send them down to IWK, and he'll want them to go as a family. Maybe they'll just be there for an afternoon, but depending on the complexity of the situation, they may be there for a month or two for diagnosis and original treatment. He knows that it's very important for the family to be together during those times to make the decisions and to support the child. Once the child gets back to Cape Breton, they may be well enough to go to school for a while and then they may have a relapse. The child may stay in Cape Breton or go to IWK, but it's important for the family to be there and participate in the care.
I mentioned this briefly when I spoke.... One big difference for children and youth, as opposed to adults, is that up until they're capable of consenting to their own health care, it is the parent who needs to be there. These decisions can't wait until five o'clock when somebody gets off work. They need to be made at 10 o'clock in the morning, if that's when a procedure needs to be done. So not only is it important from a psychological point of view, but it's very important from a health care delivery point of view that the parents are available.