NORTHUMBERLAND\u00a0–\u00a0<\/span>As Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) supporters rallied at Queen\u2019s Park this week putting hospital cuts front and centre \u2013 including those at Northumberland Hills Hospital in 2005 – the new co-chair of the Northumberland OHC chapter has spoken out about the current restructuring and layoffs underway at the hospital in Cobourg.<\/p>\nPromises made by both Ontario Liberal and Conservative governments in the past have left people in West Northumberland with hospital services that have \u201cshrunk,\u201d Linda Mackenzie-Nicholas said in an interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the closing of the Port Hope hospital, we were supposed to have 39 couple continuing care beds, 69 acute care beds, 18 rehabilitation beds, 11 sub-acute beds for a total of 137 beds,\u201d she said of the government promises made in the 1990s about maintaining hospital beds in the area when the two town hospitals were merged into one.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do we have today? Thirty-six med-surg beds and 24\u2026restorative and palliative care beds (with other in-hospital beds totalling 92).. The hospital has been forced to wind down, whether they are able to admit it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked about the Central East LHIN consultant\u2019s report which contains the recommendations the current Northumberland Hills Hospital restructuring and staff layoffs spring and that it is not being released, and how can people understand the process and impact on the local hospital, the local OHC representative. replied: \u201cWhen information isn\u2019t shared, I always ask, do they want us to understand?\u201d<\/p>\n
As a member of this hospital\u2019s catchment area, Mackenzie-Nicholas said she is concerned about \u201chaving services and quality of services we can access when we need them\u201d yet she sees the provincial government only interested in \u201ccutting and privatizing.<\/p>\n
We aren\u2019t even keeping up to what we had, never mind what new services we actually need,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Mackenzie-Nicholas also said she doesn\u2019t believe we \u201ccan depend on the (local hospital) board to give us all of the accurate information. If they came out in a negative manner, what would happen? (But) I don\u2019t place the blame for the convoluted funding monster on the board\u2019s shoulders\u2026I feel the responsibility for appropriate funding lies on the shoulders of the provincial and federal governments.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe communities in Port Hope and Cobourg (and area) have done their part in being financially responsible,\u201d she continued. \u201cI think it is time that was recognized.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mackenzie-Nicholas is advocating that people \u201cspeak up and tell our government what we want.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur hospital should be able to meet with the community\u201d to discuss challenges and necessary services and \u201ctake the information back to the Central East LHIN and government. Our hospitals are supported through tax revenue and donations. As a community, we should have a much bigger say than the present managed board is able to provide today.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is time that government reconfirm its commitment to health care \u201cand raise Ontario\u2019s provincial funding to the same level of funding as most other provinces,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
That was also the essence of the message presented by the OHC\u2019s executive director to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs at Queen\u2019s Park on Feb. 1.<\/p>\n
Among the points in Natalie Mehra\u2019s presentation to the committee were the following:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ontario hospital\u2019s are in the midst of the longest period of hospital cuts in Ontario\u2019s history (going on nine years) \u201cwith no end in sight.\u201d;<\/p>\n
\u201cFunding cuts must be stopped immediately\u2026.and hospital funding must be restored,\u201d one of the OHC recommendation states;<\/p>\n
\u2022 since 1990 more than 18,000 hospital beds have been closed so that Ontario has the fewest hospital beds left per capita of any province, and the number keeps dropping;<\/p>\n
\u2022 compared to 33 countries, Ontario is third last with regards to beds per capita, besting only Mexico and Turkey<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ontario now has the least hours of nursing care per hospital patient and still more nursing staff cuts are looming; and<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ontario hospital patient\u2019s receive over 14% less nursing care than another other part of Canada.<\/p>\n
valerie.macdonald@sunmedia.ca<\/em><\/p>\nClick here for original article<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(February 3, 2016) By: Valerie MacDonald, Northumberland Today NORTHUMBERLAND\u00a0–\u00a0As Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) supporters rallied at Queen\u2019s Park this week putting hospital cuts front and centre \u2013 including those at Northumberland Hills Hospital in 2005 – the new co-chair of the Northumberland OHC chapter has spoken out about the current restructuring and layoffs underway at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ohc-in-the-news"],"yoast_head":"\n
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