(May 14, 2025)<\/p>\n
By: Eric Thompson, CKNXNewsToday.ca<\/p>\n
The Grey Bruce Health Coalition will have a small delegation present at Queen’s Park Wednesday for a Day of Action, calling on the Ford government to stop\u00a0reducing care at\u00a0local hospitals.<\/p>\n
This is the third straight May the local coalition has gone to the Legislature to protest closures of rural hospitals.<\/p>\n
GBHC Chair Brenda Scott says along with raising concerns about the amount of money going toward for-profit clinics, the funds that are being directed to large urban hospitals is something that needs to be addressed.<\/p>\n
“Centralization of services is another issue that I don’t think gets enough attention,” she said. “We talk a lot about privatization, that’s a huge issue, but also centralizing all the services in large urban centres leaves out a lot of Ontario’s population who are an important part of this province.”<\/p>\n
The local coalition will have a small delegation Wednesday, as Scott noted mid-May is a busy time for people in the area with planting season underway.<\/p>\n
Members of the local coalition will join the Ontario Health Coalition\u00a0for a press conference in the Queen\u2019s Park Media Studio at 12:45 p.m., meet with MPP\u2019s, attend Question Period and hold a rally along hospital row before returning home.<\/p>\n
The timing of the Day of Action is notable, as the province is set to release its 2025 budget on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Scott says this year’s budget needs to address the closures and limited hours and nearby hospitals like Chesley, Durham and Clinton.<\/p>\n
“I’d like to see more money that could go towards restoring full-time ER for all of the small rural hospitals,” she said. “The government’s talking a lot about some of the bigger regional hospitals that they’re going to be contributing money to, but we want to make sure there’s money for the small rural hospitals as well.”<\/p>\n
She says for those unable to make it, this is the first of several trips planned to Queen’s Park this summer.<\/p>\n
“This is our first action of the year. We’re making plans for something in July and something in September. So we’re not really planning on going away,” she said.<\/p>\n