Community rallies in support of Ross Memorial; Merger not wanted<\/p>\n
Published on October 29, 2018 in Around Town\/Community\/Health\/Local News\/Seniors by Roderick Benns<\/p>\n
Under a damp and insistent rain, more than 70 people braved the elements to fight for the local hospital they have come to believe in and depend upon.<\/p>\n
While they did so, multiple cars streamed by, their drivers honking and waving in a show of support for the Ross to remain as is, and improved, not merged with Peterborough Regional Health Centre.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s just what is on the table though, as the Advocate first reported. In the Advocate\u2019s original story on this issue, Executive Director Natalie Mehra of the Ontario Health Coalition explained how hospital mergers tend to be implemented.
\n\u201c\u2026any services that are offered at both hospitals are considered duplication and something that is to be eliminated. Patients will have to travel, creating the opposite of a community hospital.\u201d Asked specifically about services at the Ross, Mehra replied, \u201cin our experience smaller hospitals lose services\u201d in a merger. Mehra predicts that Lindsay \u201cwill lose surgeries, acute care and obstetrics, leaving only the services that are likely to be privatized in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shirley Gerhard was holding a sign and rallying to save the hospital today.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis hospital is important to everyone in the community,\u201d she tells the Advocate. \u201cWe should all have a say in what happens to our hospital. I think the Ross is good and it should stay that way,\u201d not merge and potentially lose services.
\nGerhard also wonders about all the people who have donated to Ross Memorial over the years to help it acquire most services and equipment to offer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would we want that to go out of town?\u201d she asks.<\/p>\n
Ed and Debbie Clancy were also marching in front of the hospital.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely ridiculous\u201d for Ross Memorial to merge with Peterborough Regional Health Centre,\u201d says Ed.
\nHis wife agreed. \u201cWe don\u2019t want it to just be a home for the elderly.\u201d<\/p>\n
They both pointed out how the Ross covers such a large geographic area and how it wouldn\u2019t make sense to reduce services further with a growing population.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need more services, not less,\u201d says Debbie.<\/p>\n
For Barbara Doyle, one of the three founding members of the Kawartha Lakes Health Coalition, along with Zac Miller and Bonnie Kennedy, she says the community needs a \u201cfull-service hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love Ross Memorial. It services the whole community from birth to death,\u201d says Doyle.<\/p>\n
She points out there is no public transportation between Lindsay and Peterborough to get people to services the Ross may lose, but travelling more isn\u2019t desirable anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want it to just be a service hub\u201d for something like long-term care,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
The Ontario Health Coalition also sent a representative to be at the rally for the Ross, Sara Labelle. Labelle points out the recent rally at Queen\u2019s Park drew more than 8,000 people who are concerned about hospital cuts and plans for privatization in many areas across Ontario, including Kawartha Region.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great to see so many people here willing to stand up for their hospital,\u201d says Labelle.<\/p>\n
\u2014 with files from Trevor Hutchinson.<\/p>\n