Protest Hospital Cuts and Closures

Feature

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Thousands from across the Province are expected to descend on Queen's Park April 29th to protest local hospital cuts and closures.

Many cities and towns across Ontario are facing major hospital cuts and closures.

The mass rally, that will begin at 11:00 on Wednesday, is being organized to demand that the McGuinty government protect local hospital services. The rally has been called by the Town of Fort Erie, working in alliance with municipalities across Ontario and the Ontario Health Coalition and local Health Coalitions across Ontario are supporting this important endeavour.

Consistent and intentional underfunding of hospital global budgets by the provincial government is forcing cuts to hospital beds and services not seen since the unprecedented Harris cuts of the mid-‘90s.

Across the province, mass layoffs are being announced; services are being privatized, cut and/or centralized in hospitals far from patients’ homes; emergency rooms are being closed; and small and rural hospitals are under threat of closure.

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26/04/2009 09:22 PM

Unless the government improves funding, more than 70% of Ontario's hospitals will be thrown into deficit this fiscal year and more extreme cuts will likely follow. Hospital cuts
place an increased burden on remaining hospitals and staff. For Ontario residents, this means longer waits, worse overcrowding, traveling further, higher infection rates, paying out of pocket, and lower levels of care.

At least 50 busloads of people from communities across Ontario and residents of the Greater Toronto Area, all concerned about cuts to local hospitals, will be attending. Communities that are organizing buses include:

St. Catharines, Strathroy, Wallaceburg, Hamilton, Welland, Sarnia, Petrolia, Belleville ,Port Colborne, Picton Fort Erie, Trenton, Cambridge, Windsor and Leamington.

Ontario Health Coalition mailing list

http://list.web.net/lists/listinfo/ontariohealthcoalition