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Kincardine's hospital needs local control, speakers tell coalition |
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 Former Kincardine mayor Glenn Sutton makes a presentation at the Ontario Health Coalition hearing  Ontario Health Coalition panel members: executive director Natalie Mehra (L), Roger Gallaway, Barb Proctor, and Dr. Tim Macdonald, listen to the presenters at the hearing |
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Residents of Kincardine want something done about the loss of services at their hospital. And most believe a return to local control of the facility is the answer. About 100 people gathered in the Kincardine Hall at the Davidson Centre, Saturday afternoon (March 6), to make presentations to the Ontario Health Coalition panel which included executive director Natalie Mehra; Roger Gallaway, former mayor of Point Edward and former Liberal MP for Sarnia-Lambton; Barb Proctor, a nurse for 40 years and chairperson of the Friends of Prince Edward County Health Services; and Dr. Tim Macdonald, former chief of staff of Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital in Petrolia, and now helps run that hospital's emergency room. The coalition is holding democratic public hearings on the future of small, rural and northern hospitals in response to the lack of such public consultations by the Ontario government. The mandate of the "Minister's Panel on Rural and Northern Health Care," does not even contain the word "hospitals," says the health coalition. And the Ontario Ministry of Health refuses to have the minister's panel conduct public consultations. Local citizens' groups, patient advocates, the health coalition, the unions and health professionals, and municipalities, have not been consulted by that panel. So, the coalition is holding its own public consultations throughout the month of March, and then taking a report to the minister of health and the premier, with key issues brought into the Legislature during Question Period. The final report will be released to the media across Ontario. In Kincardine, about a dozen presentations were made, plus several additional comments by the public. Ian Mitchell worked for 15 years at Toronto General Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital. When he came to Kincardine, he was delighted and surprised to find a well-organized facility. Rural hospitals are the best bargain in Ontario, he said, providing comprehensive treatment and staffed by family physicians aided by well-trained and competent staff. Years ago, the hospital board consisted of local, well-known and respected citizens, and ratepayers had access to the board to express their views about health care. However, with amalgamation, a lot of that disappeared. "The rural hospital has fallen victim to the government and the health ministry's plan to integrate and centralize all services in larger centres," said Mitchell. "They should leave rural hospitals alone, and concentrate on the ways and means to attract physicians to Ontario." He said the government must realize that poor weather often closes areas for days. And without health care nearby, people are forced to travel great distances for services. "We pay the same taxes for health care, but we get only 30-40 per cent of the hospital services here, compared to what they have in Toronto - and they have all kinds of specialists there." Mitchell suggested the Ontario Health Coalition work to re-create the former Ontario Hospital Services Commission. Its mandate was to guarantee the Ontario Hospital Act was being followed. He also told the health coalition that rural hospitals must once again be under the control of the municipalities where they are located. A huge round of applause erupted over this comment. Mitchell said when the hospital and the municipality were connected, there was little problem with transparency and accountability. "That is totally lacking today." When asked about the hospital services commission, Mitchell said it began in 1971-72, with members appointed by the Department of Health. The commission was in charge of the finance and property of each hospital, and controlled which site would get renovations and expansions. "They were eminently fair in deciding each project," said Mitchell. "All that fairness disappeared when the commission was disbanded (due to problems with the teaching hospitals)." Huron-Kinloss councillor Anne Eadie brought comments from her township, citing difficulties with getting community nursing and personal support workers in the rural area. The money should be spent on the front-line workers, not administration, she said. "The transition to the LHINs (Local Health Integrated Networks) has been unsatisfactory," said Eadie. "For personal support workers, the scheduling is done out of London and only a few minutes are allowed between visits when more time is needed. It seems as if a city model is being applied to the rural area." She said Huron-Kinloss and Kincardine are concerned that services are being lost at the Kincardine hospital, particularly because in most winters, getting to that hospital is a challenge, let alone having to drive another half-hour to Walkerton because Highway 21 is closed. Publicly-funded private corporations Eadie
said she was astounded to learn that the publicly-funded hospital is
actually a private corporation. Yet, that same hospital board is
constantly seeking community support and financial support for the
facility, including a proposed $100-million renovation and expansion in
Kincardine."The hospital board should have to follow the same procedures as municipal governments have to follow for transparency and accountability," she said. "Has the LHIN or the hospital board met with the municipalities and asked for suggestions or ideas?" asked Mehra. Amidst plenty of laughter, Eadie replied, "No." She said there must be more accountability and transparency at the hospital board and the LHINs. "My personal frustration as a member of council is trying to be an advocate for rural residents," she said. "We're constantly going in circles - we're told to go to the LHIN which tells us to talk to the hospital board which is a private corporation and won't tell us anything; then we're told to talk to the province, and they say to talk to the LHIN. "Straightforward facts and information should be made available," she said. Ken Goldspink of the Friends of the Kincardine Hospital said the South Bruce Grey Health Centre board eliminating physiotherapy at the Kincardine hospital was the last straw. "We're not alone in the struggle to retain our hospital," he said. "The hospital staff does its best to meet the health needs of the citizens of this community. They are the real heroes of our health care system." Dave Trumble, a Kincardine resident and president of the Grey-Bruce Labour Council, said a strong rural community must have a vibrant hospital in order to attract industry and people. "The labour council fully endorses the sentiments of the Friends of the Kincardine Hospital, and notes that there have been some poor decisions made by the board and leadership of the South Bruce Grey Health Centre," he said. "The LHIN model hides and deflects poor decision-making." He said there have been numerous job losses at the Kincardine hospital, and the most recent one - in the dietary department - was announced by press release. "The workers do their best at our hospital, but the corporate leadership just plain sucks," he said.
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In response to questions from the panel, Trumble said the LHIN model is
significantly flawed and should be eliminated. "The current hospital
board and CEO (chief executive officer) have zero response to the
community," he said. "Your CEO has a nice position," said Macdonald. "He decides who is boss will be. It's a self-perpetuating oligarchy. We have the same thing in Sarnia." "One board member said he was so compromised by a situation, that he changed his telephone number so he did not have to deal with the public," said Trumble. Jan Mustard of St. Marys Memorial Hospital community action group, outlined the problems that facility is having. Of particular note is the possible closure of the St. Marys' emergency room overnight, from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. It's 20-30 minutes to Stratford Hospital and ambulance response times are between three and seven minutes. She believes this closure is just another step toward the end of the St. Marys hospital. "Without an active hospital, how can we recruit new doctors?" she asked. "Many people settle in a community because of the hospital." St. Marys is part of an alliance with Stratford, Clinton and Seaforth hospitals. Jackie Clements, a resident of Kincardine, told the panel that people in a small, rural community understand that they don't have access to the same facilities as larger centres. However, watching services constantly disappear from from the rural hospital is cause for concern, she said. "Patients are forced to use our emergency room as a day clinic because they can't get an appointment with their family physician or they are an orphan patient," she said. "That's an expensive way to provide medical care, and it's not appropriate for patients." Another concern, she said, is that hospitals in other small communities, such as Hanover and Wingham, have specialized services, but Kincardine does not. "We feel as if our hospital is being downgraded to the extent that it will soon be a first-aid station," she said. Former Kincardine mayor Glenn Sutton, a member of the Friends of the Kincardine Hospital, talked about the contaminated casualty unit which is required, given that the Kincardine hospital is located next to the largest nuclear power station complex in North America. He also has concerns with previous and current loss of services; and communications issues. He urged the panel to make sure the importance of the contaminated casualty unit is made clear to the health ministry. The next closest one is in Toronto, three hours away. Sutton said Kincardine hospital has lost obstetrics which is a concern because of the growth in this area; supplies and equipment are centralized in Walkerton; there is a loss of weekend ultrasound availability, staff in the laboratory, and finally, the loss of physiotherapy. And recently, job losses in health records and in dietary and food services. As well, there have been discussions by the South Bruce Grey Health Centre CEO in the media that have led to concerns about bed closures in all four hospitals, said Sutton, due to low occupancy rates. As for communications, Sutton said it was stated at a public meeting in Elmwood that "community participation is critical for a local hospital." Unfortunately, he said, "there has been no public input on the cutbacks in either the records department or dietary and food services. We all deserve much better treatment, especially the affected employees." Sutton urged the panel to have the Ontario government amend the Freedom of Information Act to include publicly-funded hospitals and require them to comply with requests for release of information. And amend the Public Hospitals Act to include provisions for public consultations whenever a hospital's level of service will be changed. Family Health Team in Kincardine? Proctor asked about Family Health Teams in Kincardine.Sharon Moore, a nurse practitioner, said these are available in Walkerton, Goderich and Southampton - all around Kincardine - but not here because this area is not eligible for a Family Health Team. "It leaves a huge gap in services," she said. "There are so many things that people are missing in health care here." Proctor also asked about the decrease in beds at Kincardine's hospital. The coalition is conducting a total of 12 hearings. Three have already
been held, including the one in Kincardine, March 4 in Wallaceburg with
a crowd of 250 people and March 5 in Shelburne with more than 60
people. |
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